Match Pictures | Matches: 2025 – 2026
Trivia
- KO: 15:00, Saturday; Celtic TV only, League Match 3
- Celtic put out a mostly reserve side with Scales as captain! Long trip to Kazakhstan following this match on Tuesday coming.
- Celtic on 9/9pts top of the league -6GD, Hearts second on 7pts after 3-3 draw v Motherwell; Sevco still NO wins, 1-1 draw v St Mirren!
- Debut for Colby Donovan & Hayato Inamura at left-back ; first start too for Shin Yamada, who gets the nod over Johnny Kenny up front
- Five #Celtic academy players played today. McGregor, Forrest, Ralston, Murray and Donovan.
- Protest banners against the intransigence of the board on transfers, with a lot of flak from across the board this week from the support.
- Alistair Johnston out for 12 weeks after injury during last match. Idah managing a knee problem with Trusty facing spell out due to an ongoing knock. Rodgers: “Adam Idah is struggling with his knee. Auston Trusty could be out for a bit with the plantar fasciitis that he has had.”
- 136,404 fans attended the four European games in Scotland this week. 56,182 – Celtic Park 43,713 – Ibrox 18,958 – Easter Road 17,551 – Pittodrie 2.48% of Scotland’s population.
- Reports:
- Celtic ramping up efforts to sign GAE Winger Jakob Breum.
- summer long pursuit of Michel-Ange Balikwisha is ongoing with reports we remain locked in negotiations with the representatives of Antwerp winger as they move closer to a £4.5m deal for the Belgian.
- Rapid Vienna have renegotiated terms on a permanent £1.3m deal for Celtic winger Marco Tilio.
- Dundee move for Celtic right-back Colby Donovan, 18, is in the balance after an injury to Alistair Johnston.
- Transfers in: Kieran Tierney (free from Arsenal, 27 May 2025); Ross Doohan signed on a three-year deal. Isaac English from Morton; Benjamin Nygren undisclosed fee from Nordsjaelland (est €1.5/£1.3m); Callum Osmand development fee from Fulham; Hayato Inamura from Albirex Niigata fee £~250k; Shin Yamada est £1.2m from Kawasaki Frontal; Jahmai Simpson-Pusey from Man City, 1 year loan (no purchase option);
- Transfers out: Scott Bain released on a free, moved to Falkirk; Daniel Cummings (£300k, pre-contract signed last Jan with West Ham); Joey Dawson (free to Scunthorpe); Matt Anderson to KV Kortrijk (Belgium, Free); Maik Nawrocki year loan deal to German side Hannover 96 with purchase clause; Lagerbielke to Braga (est up to £2.7m with 10% sell on clause); Lenny Agbaire to Rotherham (free); Luis Palma to Lech Poznan on loan with purchase option; Kyle Ure to Ayr Utd on loan; Ben McPherson season-long loan move to Partick Thistle;
Summary
El salto of KDS:
Considering the many changes the manager made, it was a good result
Second half was very good, Nygren and Inamura were best for me.
Clancy was his usual incompetent self.
merello of KDS:
Positives:
Inamura looked tidy and combative. Better than I thought. His teammates trusted him and were not shy of passing to him.
Shin quiet but got two sniffs with his head. The second one resulted in an incredible save.
Nygren superb in the second half, very tidy on the ball and sniffed out two goals by timing his late runs in to perfection.
Murray stood up well to the Martinaccio battering by their big rugby forward.
Negatives:
Still lack incisive forwards obvious, worry every time Ralston fell down, Rangers didn’t lose more points today.
Flinchy of KDS:
Apologies to the Bhoys, I really didn’t expect that. A bunch of them really stepped-up, including guys who were apparently “nowhere near it” midweek… Very good second half.
Special mentions:
Nygren – pish first half, tremendous second.
Murray – should be in and around the squad.
Inamura – rammed it right down BR’s neck.
Bernardo – much more like it.
Daizen – much more like it.
Need a big shift from the whole squad on Tuesday.
Hatate looked ragin to not get on btw. Threw his arms up when others got called back from the warm-up area.
Inside The SPFL @AgentScotland · 1h Inamura had a very good game today, I know Rodgers’ concerns are down to his defensive capabilities, that wasn’t something he really had to worry about today, but his use of the ball was excellent, had one really slack pass that caused problems but on the whole, good performance.
E-Tims @ETimsNet · 1h FT #Celtic 3 Livvy 0 Lots of effort but little quality in 1st half. Early 2nd half goal settled the team down & after that convincing win. Nygren made the difference with opening 2 goals. Good 3 points after so many chgs. 3 league wins out of 3
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers tells BBC Sportsound: “Very pleased. I thought it was a really good performance.
“We should’ve been ahead by half-time. Our patience was important. The crowd could see what we were trying to do. The second half, they get their reward for that.
“I thought that Benji [Nygren] was the standout player. It’s why we brought him to the club. He wants to score goals, he can score goals.”
On Tuesday’s trip to Almaty, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers added: “We want to be in the Champions League. I value all the players that have performed really well for us up to this point.
“Apart from that first half on Wednesday when we were a bit passive in the game – which happens – we’re in a great place going over there.
“We have a great chance to go over there and qualify.
“There’s no doubt everyone can see where the gaps are in our squad and those aren’t filled, but the players here are more than capable of going and getting the result we want.
“The achievement is for the club and the players. It gives a real feelgood factor to everyone. We want to be at the highest level of European football and Champions League is that.
“We live for Celtic to be the very best and when you have those opportunities you want to take them.”
Callum McFadden @cmfootballwriting.com · 1h A solid 3-0 win for Celtic today with much changed lineup. Nygren with a fantastic performance in the second half with two goals before Kenny finished the game off. Livingston defended well in the first half but faced an uphill battle after Celtic scored so early in the 2nd.
Michael Doris @doris.scot · 1h Have to say, credit to Brendan Rodgers and the whole team. That was a very enjoyable performance. Highlights for me were Dane Murray – superb, Benjamin was excellent and took responsibility, and I think Shin will be good. Just needs a goal.
Teams
Celtic
Manager: Brendan Rodgers
Formation: 4 – 3 – 3
01 K. Schmeichel
25 H. Inamura
05 L. Scales (c), Captain
47 D. Murray
56 A. Ralston, subbed for C. Donovan at 79mins
27 A. Engels
28 Paulo Bernardo, subbed for C. McGregor at 58mins
14 L. McCowan, subbed for J. Forrest at 58mins
13 Yang Hyun-Jun, subbed for J. Kenny at 69mins
18 S. Yamada, subbed for D. Maeda at 58mins
08 B. Nygren
Subs:
20 C. Carter-Vickers
51 C. Donovan
49 J. Forrest
41 R. Hatate
24 J. Kenny
38 D. Maeda
42 C. McGregor
12 V. Sinisalo
63 K. Tierney
Goals:
B. Nygren (47′, 71′)
J. Kenny (76′)
Assists:
D. Maeda (76′)
Livingston
Manager: David Martindale
Formation: 5 – 4 – 1
28 J. Prior
04 S. Blaney, subbed for S. May at 29mins
27 D. Wilson
05 R. McGowan (c), Captain
40 S. Lawal
19 D. Finlayson
16 A. Winter, subbed for C. McLennan at 66mins
25 M. Tait, subbed for L. Smith at 74mins
24 M. Sylla
08 S. Pittman
18 J. Bokila, subbed for T. Yengi at 66mins
Subs:
14 J. Hamilton
23 B. Kabongolo
17 S. May 75′, Yellow Card at 75mins
11 C. McLennan
09 R. Muirhead
07 Z. Rudden
22 A. Shinnie
15 L. Smith
39 T. Yengi
Goals:
Assists:
Referee Kevin Clancy
Video Assistant Referee Steven McLean
Assistant Referee 1 David McGeachie
Assistant Referee 2 Chris Gentles
Fourth Official Calum Scott
Assistant VAR Official Graeme Leslie
Att:
Venue:Celtic Park
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Stats
Overall possession
Celtic 78.2%Livingston 21.8%
Shots
Celtic 19Livingston 6
19
Shots
06
Shots on target
Celtic 9Livingston 2
09
Shots on target
02
Total touches inside the opposition box
Celtic 45Livingston 13
CEL
45
13
LIV
Goalkeeper saves
Celtic 2Livingston 6
02
Goalkeeper saves
06
Fouls committed
Celtic 12Livingston 8
12
Fouls committed
8
Corners
Celtic 10Livingston 4
10
Corners
4
In-depth match stats
Attack
Shots
Celtic 19Livingston 6
19
Shots
6
Shots on target
Celtic 9Livingston 2
9
Shots on target
2
Shots off target
Celtic 6Livingston 3
6
Shots off target
3
Attempts out of box
Celtic 6Livingston 3
6
Attempts out of box
3
Hit woodwork
Celtic 2Livingston 0
2
Hit woodwork
0
One-on-one attempts
Celtic 1Livingston 0
1
One-on-one attempts
0
Total offsides
Celtic 3Livingston 1
3
Total offsides
1
Distribution
Total passes
Celtic 739Livingston 193
739
Total passes
193
Pass accuracy %
Celtic 90.9Livingston 66.8
90.9
Pass accuracy %
66.8
Backward passes
Celtic 108Livingston 37
108
Backward passes
37
Forward passes
Celtic 201Livingston 93
201
Forward passes
93
Total long balls
Celtic 33Livingston 56
33
Total long balls
56
Successful final third passes
Celtic 217Livingston 37
217
Successful final third passes
37
Total crosses
Celtic 27Livingston 16
27
Total crosses
16
Defence
Total tackles
Celtic 15Livingston 20
15
Total tackles
20
Won tackle %
Celtic 73.3Livingston 80
73.3
Won tackle %
80
Fouls committed
Celtic 12Livingston 8
12
Fouls committed
8
Total yellow cards
Celtic 0Livingston 1
0
Total yellow cards
1
Total clearances
Celtic 22Livingston 54
22
Total clearances
54
Pre match facts
Celtic have won each of their last eight meetings with Livingston in all competitions, scoring 2- goals each time and keeping a clean sheet in five of them.
Livingston have never won away to Celtic in 21 visits in all competitions (D3 L18). Indeed, Celtic have only faced Dumbarton more times at home in their history without ever losing (26).
Celtic have won both of their league games this season so far without conceding. The Hoops have won and kept a clean sheet in each of the first three games of a league campaign six times previously: 1906-07, 1970-71, 1986-87, 2001-02, 2010-11, and 2024-25.
Livingston have won just one of their last 28 away games in the Scottish Premiership (D4 L23), failing to win any of their last 18 (D4 L14) since a 3-2 victory at Hibernian in August 2023.
Livingston are the joint-top scorers in the opening two matches of this season’s Scottish Premiership (5 goals, level with Hearts), while their expected goals tally of 3.4 is the outright highest in the competition so far.
Articles
Nygren at the double as Celtic take all three points at Paradise
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/august/23/nygren-at-the-double-as-celtic-take-all-three-points-at-paradise/
First Team
By Matthew Campbell
Share
23 Aug 2025, 5:33 pm
Scottish Premiership
Saturday, August 23, 2025
Celtic Park
CELTIC…3
(Nygren 47 & 72, Kenny 77)
LIVINGSTON…0
Celtic’s perfect start to the domestic campaign continued at Celtic Park today as Brendan Rodgers’ men took all three points thanks to a second-half brace from Benjamin Nygren and a finish from Johnny Kenny to secure a 3-0 win.
The Celts dominated the first half, limiting the visitors to very little in the way of opportunities or possession, as the champions looked to break Livingston down and fashion a chance.
David Martindale’s men were, as expected, well organised at the back and were camped in their own half for almost the entirety of the first half.
The Celts had the ball in the net with just under 15 minutes gone when Arne Engels found Shin Yamada in the box, but the offside flag went up and, after a VAR review, the goal was ruled out for offside.
Shin went close again 20 minutes later when Hayato Inamura, making his competitive debut for the Hoops today, sent an excellent cross in to the box which Shin directed on target with a header, but the Livi keeper was equal to it and tipped it over the bar.
Celtic’s best chance of the first half came three minutes in to stoppage time as the Hoops broke forward at pace.
Benjamin Nygren and Shin linked up in the middle of the park and the Japanese forward raced towards the Livingston penalty area before squaring the ball to Arne Engels.
The Belgian midfielder lost his footing at the crucial moment on the edge of the area just as he was about to pull the trigger, and Livingston bundled the ball away.
The Celts kept the pressure on the visitors though, and the ball was swiftly sent out wide to Nygren, who whipped a cross towards Yang at the back post. His header from point-blank range drew an incredible save from Jérôme Prior, with the away keeper somehow managing to push the ball on to the crossbar to keep the score level at the break.
78%
Possession
22%
19
Shots
6
9
Shots On Target
2
10
Corners
4
12
Fouls
8
0
0
Cards
1
0
Celtic started the second half brightly and within minutes of the restart, they had the goal that they had been searching for.
Yang drifted in from the left wing with the ball and unleashed a shot on goal which Prior saved, but the rebounded ball fell to Benjamin Nygren who was on hand to divert it in to the back of the net to give Celtic the lead.
The Celts continued to dominate the game, and it was clear that a second goal would settle matters and put the match beyond Livingston.
Brendan Rodgers made a triple sub just before the hour mark, with Callum McGregor, James Forrest and Daizen Maeda replacing Paulo Bernardo, Luke McCowan and Shin Yamada.
It wasn’t long before the second goal that Celtic had hunted for was found, and once again it was Benjamin Nygren writing his name on the scoresheet.
The Swede capitalised on another rebound from the Livingston keeper, though on this occasion, he curled his finish in to the top corner from inside the area in emphatic fashion.
A few moments later Johnny Kenny, who had replaced Yang on the 70-minute mark, grabbed a goal of his own as he capitalised on a great cross in to the box from Daizen Maeda and added gloss to a solid second-half performance from the Hoops.
There was also a competitive debut for Colby Donovan this afternoon, with the young right back brought on in place of Anthony Ralston with just over 10 minutes of the match left to play.
Celtic will now turn their attention to Tuesday night’s match in Kazakhstan, where a victory over FC Kairat would secure a place in the league phase of this season’s UEFA Champions League.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston (Donovan 79′), Murray, Scales, Inamura, McCowan (Forrest 58′), Paulo Bernardo (McGregor 58′), Engels, Nygren, Yamada (Maeda 58′), Hyunjun Yang (Kenny 69′)
Subs: Sinisalo, Carter-Vickers, Kenny, Maeda, Hatate, McGregor, Forrest, Donovan, Tierney
Livingston: Prior, Finlayson, McGowan, Wilson, Blaney (May 29′), Lawal, Pittman, Sylla, Tait (Smith 74′), Winter (McLennan 66′), Bokila (Yengi 66′)
Subs: Rudden, Muirhead, McLennan, Hamilton, Smith, May, Shinnie, Kabongolo, Yengi
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/ce83n1jj9z7t#Report
At a glance
Celtic make eight changes before Tuesday’s Champions League decider
Nygren scores twice & Kenny volleys in Celtic’s third – all after break
Livingston’s Prior made superb save to keep out Yang header in first half
PLAYER RATER
Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park
A much-changed Celtic side delivered the perfect Champions League send-off, as Brendan Rodgers’ side head to Kazakhstan in search of a place in the Champions League.
Three goals in 20 second-half minutes blew away Livingston’s stubborn resistance, with new Swedish signing Benjamin Nygren grabbing a double before Irish striker Johnny Kenny smashed home his first goal at Celtic Park.
Nygren was particularly impressive, creating and scoring the first, cooly finding the top corner for the second, and generally being the catalyst for a big improvement after the break.
When Kenny blasted in fellow substitute Daizen Maeda’s cross, a big smile broke across manager Rodgers’ face.
The Northern Irishman made eight changes to the team who started against Kairat Almaty in midweek, including giving a debut and a first start for new Japanese signings Hayato Inamura at left-back and striker Shin Yamada.
Stalwarts Reo Hatate, Kieran Tierney, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Callum McGregor, Daizen Maeda and James Forrest were all rested, although the latter trio were among several second-half introductions once Celtic had nudged ahead.
Visiting goalkeeper Jerome Prior might feel particularly aggrieved to be on the end of such a scoreline, having pulled off an incredible stop just before half-time, leaping to somehow tip Hyun-jun Yang’s point-blank header onto the crossbar.
Celtic’s attention now turns to an arduous journey to Almaty, where a £40m shoot-out against Kairat awaits.
That several senior players were either completely or partially rested, while keeping up Celtic’s 100 per cent start to the domestic season, will be music to the manager’s ears.
As it will to his directors sitting in the Celtic Park stand, at whom the ‘sack the board’ chants died down once the home goals finally started to flow.
What information do we collect from this quiz?
Analysis: Celtic’s patience pays off
Celtic will be quietly satisfied with this one but no more than that. There was still a flatness about much of their display, particularly in the first 45.
That said, a side showing eight changes will always struggle to find much early fluency. The team that started also managed to get ahead, with Nygren tapping in shortly after the break.
After which, a few of the more usual suspects came on, Celtic’s level contined to rise and normal league service was resumed.
For the European adventure that lies ahead, however, the Scottish champions will have to be sharper, more imaginative and clinical with any chances they do create.
Champions League qualification is stake. With one top performance – or even a good result regardless of the display – much of the noise around the club could be silenced.
They’ll need to be better than they were here – and last midweek – but with a strong domestic start to the season behind them, they’ll now turn all their attention to becoming the first Scottish side to win in Kazakhstan.
A big reward awaits if they can.
What they said
01:04
Media caption,
‘Everyone can see where the gaps are in our squad’
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: “Very pleased. I thought it was a really good performance.
“We should’ve been ahead by half-time. Our patience was important. The crowd could see what we were trying to do. The second half, they get their reward for that.
“I thought that Benji [Nygren] was the standout player. It’s why we brought him to the club. He wants to score goals, he can score goals.”
Livingston manager David Martindale: “I don’t think we deserved anything, but I think there’s still positives to take.
“We’ve not played an opponent at this level for 18 months. The boys equipped themselves fairly well, especially the first half.
“I didn’t come here to take a 1-0 defeat, or a 2-0 defeat. We came here to try and stay in the game as long as we could.”
What’s next for these teams?
Celtic resume their Champions League play-off with Kairat in Kazakhstan on Tuesday (17:45 BST) – live on Sportsound – with the sides tied at 0-0.
The small matter of a trip to face Rangers in the Premiership next Sunday (12:00) follows.
Livingston return to top-flight action at home to Hearts next Saturday (15:00).
Where next?
Rodgers says ‘no conflict’ with Celtic board
Rodgers v Celtic’s board – the sequel
All the latest Celtic news & views
Everything you need to know about Livingston
What they said
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: “Very pleased. I thought it was a really good performance.
“We should’ve been ahead by half-time. Our patience was important. The crowd could see what we were trying to do. The second half, they get their reward for that.
“I thought that Benji [Nygren] was the standout player. It’s why we brought him to the club. He wants to score goals, he can score goals.”
Livingston manager David Martindale: “I don’t think we deserved anything from the game.
“We had a really, really good first half and we give away a cheap goal. The change of shape helped us offensively but left us a wee bit wide open at the back and that probably led to the other two goals.
“Celtic deserved the three points but I think there’s still positives to take. We’ve not played an opponent at this level for 18 months. The boys equipped themselves fairly well, especially the first half.”
Player of the match
Celtic transfer news latest as audience with Brendan Rodgers remains unmissable
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/latest-celtic-news/celtic-transfer-news-latest-as-audience-with-brendan-rodgers-remains-unmissable-5285743
Mark Atkinson
By Mark Atkinson
Sports Editor
Published 23rd Aug 2025, 07:45 BST
Manager remains steadfast in his message as times become more trying
An audience with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is not to be missed right now as we enter the closing straights of the transfer window. Not after the cacophony of jeers and cries of “sack the board” that greeted Celtic’s 0-0 draw with Kairat Almaty on Wednesday.
Failure to beat the Kazakhs sets up a tricky return leg close to the Chinese border on Tuesday night in the second leg of a Champions League play-off that has main-phase participation and £40 million on the line. But before then – as Rodgers was right to point out – is the small matter of Livingston in the Premiership at home on Saturday.
Celtic have been flawless thus far on domestic duty, beating St Mirren and Aberdeen in the league plus Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup. Only a win will do to ease the tension around Parkhead this weekend, and even then, there are bound to be some protests against a board who many supporters feel are penny-pinching.
Celtic still have no new signings to announce this week, although reports from the continent suggest transfer activity has been ramped up in the days after Kairat. Talks are said to have resumed with Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles over £5m-rated forward Jakob Breum, while across the border in Belgium, a Celtic consortium is claimed to be en route to Antwerp in an attempt to seal a deal for their winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha, who has been heavily linked with Celtic for more than 12 months now.
Perhaps this is why Rodgers was not in prickly-bush mode in his pre-match press conference. Nevertheless, “I don’t have anything new to to tell you” was his deadpan response when asked about incomings, before confirming that Australian winger Marco Tilio has all but left the club, with Rapid Vienna his expected destination.
Rodgers’ options continue to diminish. His first-choice right-back Alistair Johnston is out for three months with a hamstring tear, striker Adam Idah has a knee issue and defender Auston Trusty is dealing with plantar fasciitis. The manager said an increase in injuries has not accelerated transfer work.
‘These are massive games’ for Celtic
His message was broadly the same as before – he wants players as soon as possible to assist him in big matches. “I think there is that need for it [signings] if we’re going to go on and have the season that we want,” Rodgers continued in broken-record mode. “Like I said, I would like it to be now because in a performance level, these are massive games. These are games for the can set the tone for your for your season.
“However, if the players arrive late later than what we would have liked, if they’re here, then we can still be happy, but I don’t think any injuries or anything that’s come up in the last few days has changed what uh what we needed.”
Where Celtic are in the transfer market, allied to Rodgers entering the final 12 months of his contract, has renewed chatter amongst the club’s fanbase that the Northern Irish coach might be offski sooner than next summer. Such a scenario was put to him and he was unequivocal in his response.
“Absolutely no chance,” said Rodgers. “No chance. We’ve done that one before [referring to his exit for Leicester in 2019]. It didn’t go down well! Listen, I said from the first day and there’s no hidden messages and there’s no this and that. I said I’d be three years. I’m here for three years.”
Rodgers also stated that despite the rancour and noise surrounding his relationship and the board, everyone is pulling in the same direction at Celtic.
“People try and look to find that that conflict between me and the board or me and whoever,” Rodgers continued. “It really isn’t the case. You know, the board here at the football club of over many years managed the financial side of the game and run the club to an impeccable level.
‘No conflict’ at Celtic
“My job here as the football manager is to really drive and demand and for us to live in a cycle where we understand that we will lose some players, but that it doesn’t have this massive impact that it seems to sometimes do. And that we can just lose big players and and then bring in other ones rather than to wait.
“So that cycle I want us to be in, but there’s certainly no conflict. Everyone at this club from the board to myself we want the very, very best. Longer term I don’t think so much as the manager. Now the season starts, I only want to think of the football. I don’t want to think of the contract. Just think of the football and that will come away later on if it does.”
So let’s think about the football. A hearty triumph over newly-promoted Livingston is probably the best way for Celtic to soothe some of the sores popping up around Parkhead. Any set of directors will tell you that the best way to deflect attention from them is by winning football matches. But three points are required for the sake of this team too, who took a long time to splutter into life against Kairat and then failed to hit top gear.
Rodgers would surely like to rotate his squad for this game, but he doesn’t have much to turn to. The over-deployed Daizen Maeda may have to feature. Can Shin Yamada, Johnny Kenny or Callum Osmand be trusted at No 9 instead of him in Idah’s absence? Further back, Anthony Ralston is set for an extended spell in the team following Johnston’s untimely injury.
Celtic continue to tread a fine line between success and failure. After Livingston, it’s Kairat, Rangers away and then the closure of the transfer window. Big performances are needed across the board.