Aberdeen lost more ground on Celtic in the battle at the top of the table as Reo Hatate bagged the winner for Brendan Rodgers' men at a dreich Pittodrie.

Dire conditions and dire football were the order of the night, but despite the lack of goals there was plenty to admire about the Dons' performance after they defended superbly to shut out the league leaders.

But in the end a lapse in the box saw the Japan international break Reds hearts with his first league goal since he netted against Aberdeen in October to send Celtic seven points clear at the Premiership summit with a game in hand over the Dons who were now winless in four games.

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Celtic now sit seven points clear with a game in hand over Jimmy Thelin's men, who after a tough week impressed but just fell short against a Hoops side that struggled in front of goal.

The Dons had the brighter start of the two sides, but fear immediately crept into the Red Army when a nasty collision between former Celtic keeper Ross Doohan and Kyogo saw the latter go down.

He had been brought in for Dimitar Mitov - ruled out with a hamstring injury this week - but he was able to continue and VAR found no faults in the collision.

Strong wind and pouring rain was beginning to dominate the action at Pittodrie, with the dreich conditions making it tricky for both sides, but there was still plenty of noise coming from the Dons faithful.

Duk however managed to benefit from a long ball from Sivert Heltne Nilsen, blasting the ball at Kasper Schmeichel before the rebound was fired wide by Kevin Nisbet.

A foul by Reo Hatate on Graeme Shinnie handed Duk the chance to take aim with a free-kick, but his 25-yard effort was fired straight into Schmeichel's arms as the veteran keeper had no difficulty shutting his effort out.

Callum McGregor looked to test Doohan from the edge of the area, but despite his collection of long-range strikes this season he could only drag his effort wide.

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Nisbet's crunching tackle on Alex Valle saw him booked as the Spaniard ended up in a heap, but Celtic's dominance was coming to the fore with 36 passes in the final third inside a 10-minute spell, while Aberdeen had none.

It still remained goalless however on the approach to half-time as the visitors failed to click in the penalty area, much to the relief of Thelin who was searching for his first win in four league outings.

Valle was next into the book for blocking Duk, but the resultant free-kick came to nothing before Shinnie also picked up a yellow for bringing Celtic's break forward to a sudden halt.

Alistair Johnston did well to rise up for a corner kick, but his header was sent clear by Jamie McGrath as the Canadian looked to threaten the goal in the box.

A Paulo Bernardo corner kick deflated the Reds when it ended up in the net, but Daizen Maeda was caught blocking interfering with Doohan in the goal by Don Robertson; VAR too deeming it to have been an obstruction.

Again, Johnston did well to rise above the Dons defence but he couldn't connect with the header before Nilsen ended up booked for a heavy tackle on Hatate.

It wasn't a game that was captivating the audience so far, but after 49 minutes Aberdeen were still level - a far better performance than their last meeting with the Hoops at Hampden.

The only change at the break saw the booked Valle make way for Greg Taylor as the hosts remained as they were from an underwhelming opening 45.

Bernardo dragged Nilsen down in the box but the referee waved away the claims for a penalty from the Reds players before a Nicholas Kuhn effort curled just over the Dons goal.

Aberdeen again wanted a penalty when Duk looked to have been fouled by Taylor, but Don Robertson again did not point to the spot as Duk and Nisbet were replaced by Shayden Morris and Ester Sokler.

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With just over 20 to go and little action in front of either goal, both managers made more changes in search of a vital winner, with Adam Idah and Luke McCowan replacing Kyogo and Bernardo.

The Hoops then had a trio of attempts blocked by the Dons, with Hatate's effort saved brilliantly by Doohan after his defenders pulled out two excellent blocks as Leighton Clarkson and Vicente Besuijen replaced Jamie McGrath and Topi Keskinen.

The Dons keeper was once again was called into action, as a cross into Idah was headed well by the Irishman only for Doohan's diving save to deny the Celtic striker as Maeda made way for James Forrest.

But after nearly 80 minutes came the breakthrough, and it fell the way of the visitors as Taylor's lob over the defence landed at the feet of Hatate who was able to slam the ball beyond Doohan.

Aberdeen had been brilliant and stood up to the challenge of Celtic, but one lapse in defence - Nicky Devlin the guilty player - had proved so costly for Thelin's men as the Japanese midfielder snuck his way towards goal.

In welcome news for the Dons, Dante Polvara made his long-awaited return to action with a late appearance off the bench in place of James McGarry having been sidelined for all the Premiership campaign so far with a muscle tear.

This had not been a bad Aberdeen performance, but it had been one where failing to take your chances proved costly, and Celtic had done exactly that.

Four extra minutes were added on at Pittodrie, and Shinnie found himself lucky not to be handed a second yellow as he vented his frustration on Arne Engels with a heavy challenge.

And despite a late challenge in the box by Aaron Trusty, and Besuijen's effort rolling straight into the arms of Schmeichel, it was game over for the Dons.

They now host St Johnstone at the weekend looking for a first win in five Premiership games and searching for a performance that can restart a positive run of form.