Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers claimed his side went “soft” when Auston Trusty was outjumped at Dundee’s third goal as he bemoaned the poor defending that almost cost his side three points at Dens Park.

Dundee came from behind to lead going into stoppage time but Arne Engels netted a penalty to earn Celtic a 3-3 draw and edge his side 16 points ahead of Rangers in the William Hill Premiership.

Luke McCowan opened the scoring against his former club early on and Celtic were in control until Oluwaseun Adewumi equalised on a 41st-minute breakaway.

Celtic were briefly back in front shortly after the interval when Yang Hyun-jun netted his first goal of the season but Cameron Carter-Vickers diverted Josh Mulligan’s low cross into his own net after Trusty had been outmuscled by Simon Murray.

The hosts seized the initiative and Aaron Donnelly rose above Trusty to head home a 78th-minute corner, only for a Mo Sylla handball to give Engels the chance to level.

Rodgers said: “We were very passive, especially second half. The game should have been out of sight in the first half.

“We made a great start then we lost concentration at a set-piece and our organisation allowed them to break and the young guy (Adewumi) finishes really well.

“So that gives Dundee a little up just before before half-time.

“We got in front then I expect us to go through the gears, especially in that little slope going down towards our own supporters. But we defended really, really poorly.

“The second goal, we need to deal with that much better and much quicker, and then from a corner we go soft.

“So it’s not what I would expect when you consider how well we’ve defended all season and the aggression we’ve had. But we fight til the end. A point isn’t what we want but we have to take it and move on.”

Trusty went down clutching his foot while preparing for the corner to be delivered and was again outmuscled after getting back on his feet.

“He’s got to deal with that better,” Rodgers said. “You’ve got to stay on your feet. It’s as simple as that.

“You’re 6ft 4in, you have to deal with that better. But he knows that and understands that. Across certain areas we went a bit soft.”

Dundee were moments away from securing their first home win over Celtic since Tommy Coyne netted the only goal in September 1988.

Manager Tony Docherty said: “I’m disappointed because I do think that we’d absolutely done enough to win the match.

“I thought the performance by the players was heroic.

“When you see the substitutes that Celtic are bringing on, multi-million pound players, and I’m bringing on Lyall Cameron, who’s not fit to play. He’s just out of his sick bed. He said to me, ‘I’ve got 10 minutes, gaffer’.

“I’ve got to put him on because Fin Robertson is another one, he’s not trained all week and he’s run his race.

“Wee (Cesar) Garza, he’s given everything and I put (Scott) Tiffoney on, a striker, to do a midfield role.

“That just typifies the mentality, the spirit of the squad. I’m hugely proud of them and to go a goal behind early on in a match, I’ve seen against Celtic, some teams can buckle to that, I thought we stood up to it.

“I thought we made Celtic really wobble and you don’t see that a lot with that Celtic team.

“They’re a fantastic football team, Celtic, they’re a Champions League team and when you factor in all the injuries that we’ve got, the way we went toe-to-toe with them and I thought we came out on top.”