CELTIC recordbreaker Matt O’Riley celebrated his Brighton Premier League debut by scoring the winner against mighty Manchester City last night.
The former Hoops smooth operator, who left Parkhead for an all-time high transfer sale of £26million-plus in August, marked his big-time bow with his new club’s second goal to seal a famous comeback against Pep Guardiola’s team.
O’Riley’s megabucks move to the Amex got off to the worst possible start when he was forced to hobble off only minutes into his first appearance following a wayward challenge from a Crawley Town defender during a League Cup-tie in August.
MATT FINISH…former Celt Matt O’Riley tucks the ball behind City keeper Ederson for Brighton’s winner.
The London-born Danish international playmaker made his return against City and inflicated the fourth consecutive defeat on the English champions, their worst sequence in 18 years.
Erling Haaland had given the visitors a first-half lead before Joao Pedro equalised and then O’Riley made no mistake with a cute flick past the outrushing Ederson in the fading moments.
The 23-year-old matchwinner, who cost the Hoops a bargain £1.5million when he arrived from third-tier MK Dons in January 2022, said: “It feels really nice. It’s just nice to be back playing football after my first injury in professional football.
“I was able to stay positive during my rehab and that has enabled me to come back even sooner which is really nice.”
STAR IN STRIPES AND HOOP, HOOP HOORAY…Matt O’Riley celebrates his first strike for Brighton and (below) shares the joy with Luis Palma after his second goal for Celtic in the 5-0 title-winning display against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park six months ago.
Asked if he thought the game was there to be won, O’Riley, speaking to the BBC, replied: “Yeah, especially when there is only one goal in it.
“The kind of team that we are, we create so many chances and it was just a matter of taking those chances. Against teams like Manchester City, it’s little details and on this occasion we were ruthless.”
Quizzed if he thought he could continue collecting medals after his successful spell at Parkhead, the classy middle-of-the-park operator said: “That should always the aim.
“The manager speaks about trying to challenge the establishment and that’s what we are trying to do. We’re a club that is progressing really nicely in my opinion, so why not?”
O’Riley claimed his last Celtic goal in the final game of the Premiership when he rifled in one in the 3-2 win over St Mirren at Parkhead on May 18.
Coincidentally, he netted a double three days earlier as Brendan Rodgers’ men sealed their third successive title in the 5-0 romp against today’s opponents Kilmarnock in Ayrshire.
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report and best action images from Kilmarnock v Celtic this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
