Arne Engels converted a stoppage-time penalty to give Celtic a dramatic draw with Dundee in a six-goal epic.

Luke McCown returned to Dens Park to show them what they had lost when he gave the Premier League leaders an early lead.

Despite Dundee’s dominance, Dundee equalized on the stroke of half-time following a quick counterattack from Oluwaseun Adewumi.

It was a dramatic encounter as Yang Hyun-jun brought the ball back in front but Cameron Carter-Vickers turned Josh Mulligan’s low cross into his own net.

Aaron Donnelly thought his first goal for Dundee sealed his side’s first win over Celtic since 1988, but Mo Sylla Engels made no mistake when dealing with the penalty area and the team moved 16 points ahead in the standings.

Dundee are unbeaten in three games and sit seventh.

The champions arrived late in Dens

Celtic took the lead in the fifth minute when Greg Taylor, making his 200th appearance for Celtic, delivered a perfect cross for McCown to head into the far corner. The midfielder’s celebrations were muted.

Dundee had had a chance before when Donnelly’s throw-in bounced into Celtic’s six-yard box. Kasper Schmeichel saved Simon Murray’s header.

However, Donnelly’s next long shot attempt failed to enter the penalty area and gave the Celtics a chance to break through. Adam Idah lacked confidence when he received Kyogo Furuhashi’s tempting low pass and the ball fizzed out of the danger zone.

Celtic looked in control and created chances. Paul Bernardo’s header went over the bar and McCown forced a diving save from Trevor Carson.

The home team suddenly equalized when they scored quickly after receiving a corner kick from Celtic.

Murray surged forward from the edge of the box and Finlay Robertson set up Adewumi to run towards Alistair Johnston. The Burnley loanee burst into the penalty area and curled a shot into the bottom corner.

Celtic went ahead in the 53rd minute when Young scored his second goal in 49 games for the club.

The goal came from a low pass from Furuhashi, who was once again playing on the right wing. The ball spun out of Carson’s hands as he stopped Ada from getting there, and Young showed a desire to win the ball and get home.

Dundee equalized again a minute later. Murray beat Auston Trusty and allowed Josh Mulligan to rush into the box. Carter-Vickers stepped in to block the full-back’s low cross, but deflected it into Schmeichel’s near post.

The home side gained confidence from their second equalizer and created a series of chances. Adewumi and Robertson had shots from range, Ethan Ingram’s header from Mulligan’s cross went just wide before Cesar Garza fired over on a half-chance chance.

In a sign of how the game was going, Brendan Rodgers used all five substitutions before Tony Docherty’s first.

Docherty’s side were ahead before the change after Donnelly brilliantly headed Robertson’s corner into the top corner at the back post.

Dundee looked like they were going to see the game out until Don Robertson pointed the penalty spot and Engels sent Carson the wrong way three minutes into stoppage time.

“Almost a hero”

Dundee boss Tony Docherty Tell sky sports:

“I’m really disappointed because I think we’ve done enough to watch the game but I need to balance that and praise the character and personality of the team.

“When Celtic showed their quality, I would bring in Lyle Cameron to come on when he was sick and not ready to play. Then I brought in Tiffany, a striker, to play in a midfield role.

“I’m so proud of how much these boys have given for me and for their football club. It’s almost heroic, it’s a never-say-die attitude.”

“We must do better”

celtics manager Brendan Rogers Tell sky sports:

“We lacked aggression in possession, confrontation and passing. We were all to the side or backward, and our positioning was not aggressive enough.

“We fought until the end and we got the points but we let the game get away from us and we had so much control for 40 minutes.

“Credit to Dundee because they fought back hard but when I look at us we have to do better.”

He was particularly critical of Auston Trusty for Dundee’s third goal, adding: “You’re a centre-back, you’ve got to be strong, you’ve got to be aggressive, you’ve got to win headers ”

Sky Sports experts say this:

Chris Boyd:

“Celtic are so far ahead in the league that complacency can appear at times, but Brendan Rodgers knows they need to play in the next two Champions League games.

“It’s an important game for the football club and they need to play.

“Defending down the left wing is a problem for them. You look at Trusty[before Dundee’s third goal]they’ve got him on his toes and he’s rolling. You have to To be a centre-back, you have to be a centre-back.

“Celtic spent a lot of money to bring in Trust, to bring in Engels, to bring in Ida. Tonight it was Ida again, wow, I just don’t know what happened to him.

“I understand when you’re a striker and you don’t score you can be overthinking it, but he’s not the same player he was when he came here last season.”

James McFadden:

“Brendan Rodgers talked about the team being passive and not attacking enough, but he was actually talking about Simon Murray’s second goal against Trust, and Trust’s third goal against Donnelly.

“Rogers put it out there for everyone, but he let Credible know it was unacceptable.”

Neil Lennon:

“It takes them off target.

“He sets very high standards and the team maintains them over the long term, but when they abandon them they need to be told.”

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