Celtic look like they’ve found their new Matt O’Riley

Celtic head into the final match of the season with a real chance of winning the Scottish Premiership title after a 3-2 win over Motherwell on Wednesday night.

The biggest moment in the game was, of course, the penalty that was awarded deep into stoppage time and eventually converted by Kelechi Iheanacho to win the game.

Gary Lineker described it as the “worst VAR decision I’ve seen“ and an “extraordinary”, whilst Jeff Stelling said that it was “embarrassing for Scottish football” that it was given as a penalty.

Sam Nicholson rose to win a header over Auston Trusty in the box, but the ball appeared to hit his head and the palm of his hand at the same time.Martin O’Neill and his side will have no complaints about the decision, though, because Iheanacho’s goal from the penalty means that they can win the title by beating Hearts on Saturday.

Why Celtic’s board should celebrate the win over Motherwell more than anyone

It is fair to say that the Hoops supporters have not been too pleased with the board throughout the season, with Brendan Rodgers’ departure, the entirety of Wilfried Nancy’s tenure, and their general form in the Premiership.

If anything can solve problems in football, it is winning games and winning trophies. That is why the board should be celebrating the win over Motherwell more than any player or member of the coaching staff.

Beating Hearts at the weekend and winning the SFA Cup final could salvage back some support from sections of the fanbase, giving the club a better platform to build from when appointing O’Neill’s successor this summer.

The board should be grateful to one player, in particular, because there is a Celtic star who is emerging as the club’s new version of Matt O’Riley and has been dragging the side back into the title race.

The Celtic star who is saving the board big time

O’Riley, of course, dragged Rodgers’ side to the title in the 2023/24 campaign with a return of 18 goals and 13 assists in 37 appearances in the Premiership.

Benjamin Nygren scored his 16th goal of the Premiership season against Motherwell with a staggering strike from distance to put the Hoops up 2-1 at the time.

Only Tawanda Maswanhise has scored more league goals than the Sweden international in Scotland this season, which speaks to how impressive the central midfielder’s goalscoring has been.

Nygren completed 94% of his attempted passes, rarely giving the ball away in the middle of the park, and won four of his six duels for Celtic, along with his unbelievable strike in the win over Motherwell.

He has quickly established himself as the new O’Riley at Parkhead with how influential he has been on the pitch as both a scorer and a creator of goals, just as the Dane was in the 2023/24 campaign.

The left-footed star has the most goals and assists (21), the most goals (16), the most xA (7.75), and the most key passes (59) of any player in the Celtic squad.

Nygren has been the go-to man at the top end of the pitch more often than not for Celtic, given his output, and he has dragged the team back into the title race over the course of the season, with special help from Daizen Maeda and Iheanacho.

If the season ends with Celtic winning the league title and some of the heat taken off the board, Nygren will be the man that the higher ups at Parkhead need to give a special thank you to.

The 24-year-old star may not be the most dynamic or exciting player to watch with the ball at his feet, but he is undeniably effective and has been key to Celtic still being in the title race heading into the final game of the season.

It would not be a surprise at all to see Nygren score or assist the goal that wins the Hoops the Premiership title if they go and beat Hearts on Saturday, as the Swede is on a one-man mission to save Celtic and their board.