Renowned Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague has disclosed the praise from a UEFA Technical Observer of Matt O’Riley’s performance against Shakhtar Donetsk.
The 21-year-old has started in all five of the Hoops UEFA Champions League outings so far, against Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Although at the beginning of the campaign, O’Riley found himself playing in a higher midfielder position, in recent weeks has been placed in a more unnatural deeper role.
After the injury to Celtic captain Callum McGregor against RB Leipzig, many expected either Oliver Abildgaard or Aaron Mooy to step into the side in his place.
However, the responsibility has been handed to the former Fulham man to take up that crucially important role in front of the defence.
O’Riley continued in that position on Tuesday evening, as it ended in disappointment for the Hoops against Shakhtar Donetsk at Celtic Park.
Despite O’Riley’s frustration at the result and the performance of Postecoglou’s side, the Danish under-21 international was awarded UEFA’s player of the match award for his display.
Spanish journalist, Guillem Balague, took in the Bhoys’ first Champions League group stage game of the campaign when they faced Real Madrid.
And in the aftermath of that spirited defeat, he took to Twitter to praise O’Riley for his performance back in September after speaking to the midfielder and his parents.
Once again, following on from the 1-1 draw at Celtic Park on Tuesday, Balague took to social media to praise the Celtic midfielder, revealing the impressive feedback he received from one of UEFA’s technical observers.
Matt O’Riley has stepped up during difficult period without Celtic captain.
Without the talismanic figure of Callum McGregor in the Celtic midfield, it was always going to be a tough period of fixtures.
However, Matt O’Riley has stepped up and showcased his fantastic ability as a versatile option in Ange Postecoglou’s midfield three.
Although, at times, there have been mistakes or slight faults within his game, for a player in his early 20s, O’Riley has shown incredible levels of composure.
His impressive performances playing as both a ‘6’ and ‘8’ within this system are exactly why he deserves to be playing at the top level of European football.
In my opinion, O’Riley is probably a better option further up the pitch. But, in McGregor’s absence, he has shown his capabilities to step up and be counted in the middle of the park.
Here’s hoping we can continue to see the Celtic man develop all different areas of his game whilst at Parkhead, as he will prove to be a valuable asset for Ange Postecoglou this season and going forward.
In other news, The perfect Champions League precedent Shakhtar Donetsk offer Celtic.
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