Few players have had the impact Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has had this term and he turned in another excellent performance against Buckie Thistle.
The Denmark international played the entire match as the Hoops hit the Jags for five at a blustery Parkhead, recording two assists and ending the day as Scottish Gas Player of the Match [BBC Sport].
In all competitions, the 23-year-old has notched ten assists and 12 goals in all competitions this campaign and can seem to do no wrong in the eyes of the Hoops support, per Transfermarkt.
His consistency hasn’t gone unnoticed amid interest from Girona in his services. However, Brendan Rodgers isn’t too concerned about keen suitors.
Hoops manager Rodgers stated on the topic: “The club is in a really strong position with no need to sell and we’ve no thoughts on selling. Naturally, it’s the time of the season when there’s lots of speculation and gossip around players.”
Despite his all-round brilliance, even O’Riley had a bone to pick with one aspect of the Bhoys’ routine victory over Highland League opposition on Sunday.
O’Riley says Celtic Park surface made Buckie Thistle test ‘harder’
Speaking after the match with Viaplay, O’Riley admitted that the Celtic Park surface made it ‘harder’ to move the ball around at a swift tempo.
He said in the company of Neil Lennon, Marvin Bartley and Emma Dodds: “I’ll be honest our pitch probably isn’t the best right now as well.”
O’Riley then added: “I’m not making excuses but when you’re trying to break a low block down it does make it harder and that’s why our mentality has to be top every game.”
Nevertheless, neither Celtic or the man in question had any problems on the day as Paulo Bernardo, Odin Thiago Holm, Kyogo Furuhashi, Luis Palma and Rocco Vata booked the Hoops’ place in round five.
Matt O’Riley continues to shine for Celtic
Looking to the remainder of the campaign, O’Riley will be expected to take a leading role in midfield as Celtic hunt for Scottish Premiership glory.
Capable of creating and scoring, the Danish playmaker has taken on 2.9 shots per match in the league alongside laying on six big chances for his teammates [Sofascore].
According to Fotmob, the 23-year-old also ranks as the Bhoys’ best performer in the Scottish top-flight, racking up an average match rating of 8.16/10.
Hopefully, O’Riley can continue to produce the goods as Rodgers’ men target a domestic double in his first full season back in charge.
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