In the city of discovery, Celtic came perilously close to encountering an unwanted piece of history.
For the first time in more than thirty years, since the days of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister, they almost suffered defeat at Dens Park.
Only they will know exactly how that happened. Leading 2-1 shortly after half-time, Brendan Rodgers’ side suffered a bizarre collapse that few could have seen coming.
Having conceded just eight league goals all season on the trip to Tayside, Celtic conspired to concede a further three in the space of just over 45 minutes.
After Oluwaseun Adewumi had leveled the home side shortly before half-time, a Cameron Carter-Vickers own goal and Aaron Donnelly’s header threatened a famous victory for Dundee.
It looked to be a ruinous second half for the champions, who had been terrible for the remainder of the match after Yang Hjun-jun had put them 2-1 ahead shortly after the break.
Former Dundee midfielder Luke McCowan put Celtic ahead with a fine finish
In an exciting match, Dundee’s Aaron Donnelly gave his team the lead in the 12th minute
Arne Engels equalized for Celtic with a penalty in injury time
Celtic flirted with disaster but were saved straight from the death when substitute Arne Engels kicked home a penalty after Mo Sylla had been penalized for handball.
It extended their lead at the top of the table to 16 points, but despite the late drama this was not a night of celebration for Celtic. Not really.
Auston Trusty had a torrid night against Simon Murray and the Dundee frontline, and there was a vulnerability in Celtic’s defense that has so rarely been seen this season.
Dundee had not beaten Celtic at Dens since a Tommy Coyne goal secured a 1-0 win in 1988.
They were almost denied the final kick of the game, but they deserve huge credit for pushing Rodgers’ side all the way forward in an enthralling encounter under the lights.
Rodgers made three changes from the side that won 4-1 at Dingwall last weekend, with Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo taking the place of Engels and Reo Hatate in central midfield.
The other change saw Greg Taylor come on for Alex Valle at left back and make his 200th appearance for Celtic.
This was a special night for McCowan, the former Dundee midfielder who returned to his former home after three excellent seasons on Tayside.
The match was only five minutes old when he marked his return in devastating fashion, starting and finishing the move that gave Celtic an early lead.
He cleared the ball to Taylor and continued his run into the penalty area, with Taylor then delivering an inviting cross to the back post.
Dundee’s marking and lack of awareness were criminal as McCowan drifted in and got a free header, planting the ball back across goal and into the far corner.
His celebrations were fairly subdued and while it can often be a fad for players not to celebrate against former clubs, McCowan’s affinity for Dundee is more genuine.
After a few seasons at Ayr United, it was Dundee who really provided him with the platform to move on and excel at a higher level, something for which his gratitude is evident.
Dundee boss Tony Docherty may yet have to deal with the loss of another talented young midfielder, with Lyall Cameron strongly linked with a move to Rangers.
Cameron was on the bench last night as Docherty made just one change from the side that drew 1-1 with Rangers last week.
Winger Scott Tiffoney was dropped to the bench and replaced by central midfielder Finlay Robertson, who returned after a short spell on the sidelines.
New signing Imari Samuels, who joined from Brighton on a two-and-a-half-year deal earlier this week, was also on the bench.
The early goal knocked Dundee out of the closet, with Celtic looking dangerous in the final third.
With Daizen Maeda missing and Nicolas Kuhn just fit enough for the bench, Rodgers went with a front three of Adam Idah, Kyogo Furuhashi and Yang.
It was a new role for Kyogo playing out wide and one he excelled in, scoring twice in the win over Ross County last weekend.
Yang also made a third successive start and they looked lively either side of central striker Idah.
Bernardo came close to making it 2-0 when he met Alistair Johnston’s cross, but his header hit the top of the crossbar as Dundee keeper Trevor Carson was soundly beaten.
But Dundee came roaring back to equalize on 41 minutes thanks to a deadly counter-attack that saw them go from one end of the pitch to the other in the blink of an eye.
From a Celtic corner, Murray led the breakaway and worked the ball to Fin Robertson.
Robertson played a good pass to Adewumi but there was still plenty of work to do even as he reached the Celtic penalty area.
Adewumi showed great composure as he cut inside Johnston and placed a superb finish into the far corner past Kasper Schmeichel.
There had been a great deal of luck in the way the ball bounced around on the edge of Dundee’s penalty area early in the move, but the quality of the finishing was undeniable.
Celtic should probably have been a few goals ahead in terms of play, but Dundee deserved praise for hanging on as the teams leveled at 1-1 at half-time.
Docherty’s team indeed still had a chance to start the second half.
Dundee manager Tony Docherty salutes the home fans after a fine performance from his side
Yet Celtic regained the lead within eight minutes of the restart when Yang headed home after an excellent move wide from Kyogo.
Even beyond his goal, there was enough promise in Yang’s performances over the past fortnight to suggest he could still be a player of value for Celtic.
But Dundee didn’t go away. Just a few minutes after falling behind, they equalized again.
Josh Mulligan’s low cross was skewed by Cameron Carter-Vickers and flew past Schmeichel into the Celtic net for 2-2.
Dundee were in good spirits and Celtic looked shell-shocked but were fortunate not to fall behind when Ethan Ingram planted a header just wide of the post.
Aided by some sloppy passing from the visitors, Dundee won the ball in some great areas and countered with speed and ingenuity.
Rodgers made a three-way substitution just after the hour mark, with Kuhn, Engels and Hatate all entering the fray to replace McCowan, Bernardo and the ineffective Idah.
Dundee took the lead with just 12 minutes remaining when Donnelly emerged to score a header at the back post.
Celtic were desperate for a late equalizer and were awarded a penalty when Sylla made a handball to block a Kuhn shot.
Engels has been far from impressive in recent weeks, but he held his nerve as he smashed the ball past Carson for 3-3.
A breathless, pulsating encounter finally reached its end. Celtic’s traveling support cheered the late equalizer, but it was the home fans who would have been happier with their team’s performance.