The mercury did not get above zero in Edinburgh but the second-half entertainment delivered in Leith fairly turned up the heat at Easter Road.

As the whistle blew on what was a pulsating second period – as intriguing as the first was forgettable – both sets of players appeared to stand frozen, absorbing the frantic finale to this encounter.

For the second time in the league this season, Hibs will feel that they had Celtic on the ropes, all the more so for coming back from a 2-0 deficit.

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As this game drew to a close both teams could have won it in the last 60 seconds.

Celtic had a goal-line clearance from Mikael Lustig to thank for preserving their unbeaten run while Scott Sinclair blasted high and wide with what proved to be the last kick of the ball.

The Parkhead side would have been the more aggrieved of the teams.

It was not just the manner in which they allowed a two-goal lead to fritter through their fingers but the way they did so cheaply.

There was some fortuity about the two opening goals from Sinclair, but the two that Celtic gifted to Hibs could have been gift-wrapped and put under the tree.

If the first one was ugly – the Parkhead side could not clear their lines as Efe Ambrose bundled a loose ball off of Lustig and into the net – while Lewis Stevenson and Anthony Stokes then combined shortly after for Oli Shaw to net the leveller.

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That one almost took the roof off at Easter Road but the manner in which Jozo Simunovic was rolled for the goal would have frustrated Brendan Rodgers.

So too the profligacy in front of goal.

After establishing a firm grip of this game with a two-goal lead, there were opportunities to add it. Hibs deserve much credit for the manner in which they did not allow their heads to go down but Celtic had a say in what could have been a costly fold.

Sinclair thought he had claimed a hat-trick with the scores still at 2-0 but although it looked a marginal decision, the flag was up almost immediately.

A dusting of frost on the pitch had suggested there may be a case for treacherous underfoot conditions and although Celtic ultimately stretched their lead to 68 games without defeat, there were times in the crazy last few minutes of this meeting when they would have felt as though they were on a slippery slope.

James Forrest had the best chance of an opening period that was dominated by the intriguing duel that went on between Scott Brown and John McGinn. Asked after the game how he felt that one played out, Rodgers paused before saying “there was no competition. Scott Brown was the outstanding midfielder on the park. I like McGinn…but he has a way to go before reaching that level.”

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That may have seemed harsh on McGinn who was excellent throughout - and Neil Lennon unsurprisingly took a different view - but Brown continued the form he showed throughout this campaign as he patrolled the central pastures with a swagger cultivated over a decade at the Parkhead club.

Had James Forrest taken his opportunity in the early stages of the opening period, there may well have been a more comfortable afternoon for Celtic.

A criminally slack square ball across the face of his own goal by Dylan McGeouch enabled Forrest to bolt through clear on goal but with both time and space the winger conspired to drag his shot wide of the target.

He was not the only one who was wasteful.

Shortly after the restart Sinclair hesitated after being out through on goal and directed a fairly tame shot towards Hibs keeper Ofir Marciano.

It seemed to crystalise an apparent lack of confidence in a player whose mantelpiece was groaning under the weight of the individual accolades that came his way last season.

Read more: Celtic winger Scott Sinclair - I've scored four more goals this season than I had at this stage last year

One Hoops fan had taken to social media site Twitter in the earlier stages of the game to comment ironically that ‘Scotty Sinclair, he was so wonderful’ a reference to the favoured chant directed towards the Celtic winger.

And yet while there was some luck on both of the goal the English winger netted – the first a rebounded effort after Odsonne Edouard had clipped the post and the second that came of Marvin Bartley before landing in the back of the net – the player seemed revived in that second period.

Not that the same can be levelled at the Celtic defence.

Rodgers has made no secret of the fact that he is in the hunt for defensive reinforcements in the January transfer window. It is tempting to say that on the back of yesterday’s performance they are needed but it has been an achilles heel throughout this term.

And while Celtic will be irked at uncharacteristically allowing a 2-0 defeat to unravel , it could have been worse still.

The mix-up between Simunvic and Craig Gordon on the edge of the box following Oli Shaw’s long-range effort looked certain to end the sequence of unbeaten games. Lustig preserved it with a desperate boot off the line but it would have a ridiculous way to have it come to an end, particularly how on top Celtic had been at times.