69 touches, 100% shot accuracy… Celtic hero was superb in win vs Hearts

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Celtic put in an accomplished performance in the 3-0 win over Hearts at Parkhead yesterday.

Every player to a man did their bit to ensure that Rangers went into their game against Kilmarnock this afternoon knowing that any slip-up would make next weekend’s Glasgow Derby a potential title decider.

A Kyogo Furuhashi first-half double settled some early nerves as Hearts showed more intention in the first six minutes at Celtic Park than they did in the whole of their Scottish Cup semi-final two weeks ago.

And whilst the whole Celtic team were excellent yesterday, there was a clear stand-out who rose to the occasion to put the Edinburgh side to the sword.

Matt O’Riley was simply brilliant for Celtic vs Hearts

It’s little wonder Matt O’Riley has been nominated for the PFA Player of the Year this season. The Danish international has been excellent under Brendan Rodgers.

Yesterday’s performance over the capital club was peak O’Riley at his best and his goal and incredible Furuhashi assist took him to 14 goals for the season and 16 assists.

Rated an impressive 8.9 by Fotmob, O’Riley put in an all-round performance that the Celtic fans will be proud of.

As well as his aforementioned goal and assist, O’Riley also put in a shift defensively for Celtic. His early block against a Lawrence Shankland first-minute shot on target can also be added to his two clearances for the day.

The Danish international also made four defensive actions, three ball recoveries, won four duels and also won 100% of his aerial battles.

But it was in the attacking third where O’Riley was simply superb. The midfielder put his 69 touches of the ball to good use with eight of those in the Hearts penalty box.

And as he probed, O’Riley created four chances and had four shots on goal. The silky midfielder also had a passing accuracy of 83% with six of those in the attacking third and a 100% passing accuracy in long balls.

That performance his been indicative of most of O’Riley’s season and it’s not surprising that his peers see him as one of the best players in the country.