Lewis Ferguson scored an injury-time penalty as Aberdeen and Celtic served up a thrilling encounter at Pittodrie that finished 3-3.
The Dons had led at the break thanks to a Ferguson penalty two minutes before the interval, but the Hoops restored parity through Callum McGregor early in the second half.
Ryan Hedges put the Dons back in front when he steered home from close range ,but a Leigh Griffiths strike and a Ryan Christie penalty after 76 and 78 minutes respectively looked to have given the Hoops the points.
But, in the dying stages, McGregor conceded another spot-kick for a foul on Connor McLennan and Ferguson kept his composure to roll the ball home from 12 yards and earn his side a point.
The Dons will take plenty of positives into next week’s Scottish Cup semi-final against the Hoops at Hampden after going close to a first Pittodrie win against Celtic since 2016.
There was good news for Aberdeen when the teams were announced with Jonny Hayes fit enough to start against his former club, despite limping off during Tuesday’s 4-2 win against Hamilton with a groin injury.
The Dons made only one change with Ross McCrorie stepping in to replace Scott Wright with striker Ryan Edmondson also shrugging off an ankle knock to take his place in attack.
Celtic shuffled their pack with four alterations from the team that started Thursday’s 3-1 loss against AC Milan in the Europa League.
Goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas was a notable absentee from the squad, while captain Scott Brown, Leigh Griffiths and Stephen Welsh dropped to the bench.
In their place came former Dons Scott Bain and Ryan Christie, as well as Mohamed Elyounoussi and Tom Rogic, a frequent tormentor of Aberdeen in recent seasons.
The game kicked off following a minute’s silence in memory of former Aberdeen boss Ebbe Skovdahl, who died on Friday at the age of 75.
The hosts created the game’s first meaningful opportunity with the Dons feeling Diego Laxalt had used his hand to block Ross McCrorie’s header from Marley Watkins’ hanging cross.
At the other end, Olivier Ntcham almost caught out Dons goalkeeper Joe Lewis with a fierce long-range drive which clipped the wrong side of the post.
The Dons were forced into an early change with 26 minutes gone when Dylan McGeouch limped off with a groin injury and McLennan entered the fray.
The visitors passed up a good chance moments later when Elyounoussi failed to find the target with a free header from Christie’s in-swinging corner.
Just as the half was trundling towards its conclusion, a moment of carelessness from Ntcham gifted Aberdeen the lead two minutes before the break.
The Frenchman was penalised for clumsy challenge on Ferguson and the Dons midfielder dusted himself down before smashing home the spot-kick.
It took Celtic only seven minutes of the second half to restore parity with McGregor exchanging passes with Rogic before firing beyond Lewis.
The Dons made two enforced changes soon after with the injured Watkins and Ryan Edmondson, who crashed into the advertising hoardings following a collision with Shane Duffy, replaced by Wright and Sam Cosgrove.
It was Cosgrove’s first appearance of the season following his return from a knee injury sustained during pre-season and he soon made his presence felt.
After Wright capitalised on an error from Duffy, Cosgrove worked a yard of space in the Celtic penalty area for a shot which was saved by Bain, but Hedges prodded home the rebound.
But Celtic responded to going from behind by throwing on Brown and Griffiths for Ntcham and Ajeti and the change had the desired effect.
Rogic fed Griffiths who unleashed a powerful hit which took a deflection off Ash Taylor on its way into the top corner after 76 minutes.
And the Hoops were ahead two minutes later when Christie converted from the penalty spot after Tommie Hoban had fouled Elyounoussi.
But the Dons weren’t done yet with Ferguson earning them a point from the penalty spot after McGregor’s foul on McLennan to cap off a rip-roaring contest.
