Celtic put the pressure on Hearts and Rangers by securing a crucial three points over Motherwell on Saturday in the Premiership.
Martin O’Neill’s side played before their title rivals, and despite going 1-0 down to Elijah Just, Celtic beat 10-man Motherwell 3-1 at Parkhead.
Celtic’s interim boss was left beaming at his squad’s relentless energy to flip the script. Speaking after the final whistle, O’Neill praised the character required to overcome such a high-quality opponent, including praise for the ‘outstanding’ goalscorer Hyunjun Yang.
“Yang was absolutely outstanding,” O’Neill told Celtic TV. “He got the goals, which he deserved. I thought Daizen was also brilliant. Two great goals. Two really great goals. He deserved them.”
Massive three points. Your instant thoughts…
Who impressed you for Celtic against Motherwell?
What impressed Martin O’Neill about Hyunjun Yang against Motherwell?
Yang deserves his flowers because it hasn’t been easy for him in Glasgow, and he is, somehow, progressing this season despite most things around him declining.
Whilst the champions of Scotland gifted Motherwell their goal, the opposition did the same for Yang’s opener, which he expertly finished into the bottom corner after pouncing on a loose ball in the middle of the box.
Then, in the second half, in what was an end-to-end match, Emmanuel Longelo was punished for holding in the penalty area from a corner, and he was sent off.
Tomas Cvancara converted the spot-kick to put Celtic ahead, before Viljami Sinisalo’s punt down the middle saw Yang brilliantly run in behind and finish the game off.
The attacking quality on show from, not just Yang, but also Maeda, who played down the middle and then on the left flank, left O’Neill very impressed.
But the South Korean star’s never-give-up attitude was probably the one that put the biggest smile on O’Neill’s face, as he explained.
“Very much lived up to it,” said O’Neill about Celtic’s clash against Motherwell, meeting expectations.
“It was a great performance. Great by both teams, in honesty. A great game of football. Really tough. We knew it was going to be tough for us, and it’s proved to be the case.
“Motherwell are a fine, fine side. But we showed a lot of determination, having come from a goal behind and given them a goal. It was a terrific performance.
“Yang was absolutely outstanding. He got the goals, which he deserved. I thought Daizen was also brilliant. Two great goals. Two really great goals. He deserved them. Not only doing the work going forward. I don’t know where he gets the energy from. But working back. Seriously, I wouldn’t mind playing fullback behind him. He does the job for you. He was terrific.
“In the second half, we really got at them. Really did. I thought there were periods in the first half. But the game was yo-yoing, whichever side had the ball. Today we played some great stuff.”
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