Match Pictures | Matches: 2025 – 2026
Trivia
- KO: 19:45; Wednesday; Celtic TV only, league match 10
- Manager: Brendan Rodgers resigned/sacked/left by mutual consent.
- Former manager Martin O’Neill takes over as interim manager with ex-Celt Shaun Maloney (and current Celtic youth coach) assisting him.
- Assistant Manager John Kennedy, coaches Adam Sadler and Jack Lyons, and Head of Performance Glen Driscoll have left the Club with immediate effect.
- Former Celtic Captain Stephen McManus and former Celtic player Mark Fotheringham step into the first team coaching set-up, where they will join Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney on an interim basis, alongside coaches Stephen Woods, Gavin Strachan and Greg Wallace.
- Several thousand Celtic fans gathered outside the Main Stand this evening to send a clear message to the Board – it is time to go. Very vocal!
- Hearts draw with St Mirren in pulsating 2-2 draw, so Celtic close the gap to 6pts behind Hearts, Celtic 2nd on 20pts/+8GD after 10 games, Sevco 5pt further behind.
- Debut for Callum Osmand.
- Ex-Celt Scott Bain in goals for Falkirk.
- Out on loan Celt Odin Thiago Holm, currently struggling to make an impact on loan to Los Angeles, has revealed he is battling to save his career at the age of just 22 after a rare condition in his calves that has left him feeling “half-paralysed” when he plays.
- Livingston confirmed that full-back Adam Montgomery (on loan from Celtic) will be out of action for at least 10 weeks.
- Feyenoord look set to suffer a partial stadium closure when they face Celtic in De Kuip next month in the Europa League after fans set off fireworks in their match against Panathinaikos this week while the club are already on a suspended sentence from Uefa.
- Reports:
- Robbie Keane, Kieran McKenna and Ange Postecoglou are all on the shortlist to succeed Brendan Rodgers as the next permanent Celtic manager.
- Celtic would face a substantial compensation fee if they want to appoint Ipswich Town’s McKenna.
- Interim manager Martin O’Neill says McKenna’s track record could make him an attractive option for Celtic.
- Former Motherwell manager Stevie Hammell is expected to become Celtic’s head of academy, replacing Chris McCart.
- Celtic have been informed that Cluj are eager to sell Louis Munteanu during the January transfer window, the Scottish champions having had a £7m offer rejected for the 23-year-old Romania striker this summer.
Summary
“A restoration of confidence”
Martin O’Neill
An enjoyable game of football with lots of positives at a relaxing pace with heads up. After all the havoc in the past few day, losing to Hearts and then Rodgers “departing” this was a nice respite from the dramas, albeit there were big protests outside the ground against the board, and anti-board chanting within the ground too. Sarrachi impressive. Overall much more direct and positive, Kenny took his goals well and even Balikwisha looked better being on the right. Best thing tonight was the number of crosses, we didn’t seem scared to play it in. Totally different energy from Celtic tonight, quicker, more direct, players looked like their leash had been taken off. Did this show that Rodgers was stifling the creativity and freedom in certain members in the squad?
“It has been surreal in many aspects,” he said. “It’s extraordinary. I was minding my own business on Monday afternoon but to be here in Wednesday, is incredible. “It’s for the older players to come on and show them the way. In terms of us, the backroom staff have been great to me. “They’ll be coaching aspects of the game, trying to deal with the opposition, and the backroom staff will know Falkirk better than me. “It’s at Celtic Park, let’s focus on us to be as strong as possible and try to get our confidence back. “I can try and influence what’s going forward.”
Martin O’Neill prematch
“I thought we played very well. “I was concerned before the game, but that’s just a trait of mine. That’s something to do with my dreadful insecurity problems. “I’m really pleased to win the game in the manner we did, and we played some delightful stuff. Could have scored a couple of more goals, too. “I’m hoping some of the players have played today are old enough to know who I am, some of the younger lads I wouldn’t be totally sure. They see this man stepping into the dressing room and think ‘what’s happening here?’. “I’m delighted, satisfied in the sense I thought we played very well. My anxiety has calmed somewhat, and it was really nice to win. When you get a few goals in front you can perhaps enjoy the last 10 or 15 minutes, and it kind of brought me back. “I’ve not seen Celtic often, not live, to make criticism of this side. A restoration of confidence was great.”
Martin O’Neill post-match
Tam86 of KDS:
Transformation. That’s the only word for it. The last time the players put that effort in for Rodgers was in Germany.
I think it’s clear where the issues were prior to a couple of days ago and I just didn’t get people who thought MON would get nothing out of this squad. Some people clearly don’t know the man. Getting everything out of players is his speciality and so it proved tonight.
Every single player left it all out there. There was no 20 minutes of effort then 60 minutes of jogging around. Saracchi in the 92nd minute with a lung busting sprint to try and score the 5th said it all.
I’ve zero fears about the interim management team. None.
I’m really happy for MON though, he must have had a wee fear things might not have gone well but tonight was just about as well as it could go. Onwards and pumping hunwards.
Highland__Paddy @Highland__paddy · 1h More intensity and directness in the first half than we have seen recently brought it’s rewards
Teams
Celtic
Manager: Martin O’Neill
Formation: 4 – 2 – 3 – 1
01 K. Schmeichel
36 M. Saracchi
05 L. Scales
06 A. Trusty
56 A. Ralston
42 C. McGregor (c), Captain, subbed for R. Hatate at 77mins
27 A. Engels
23 S. Tounekti, subbed for C. Osmand at 76mins
08 B. Nygren 59′, Yellow Card at 59mins, subbed for L. McCowan at 66mins
49 J. Forrest, subbed for M. Balikwisha at 61mins
24 J. Kenny, subbed for D. Maeda at 66mins
Subs:
10 M. Balikwisha
51 C. Donovan
28 Paulo Bernardo
41 R. Hatate
38 D. Maeda
14 L. McCowan
47 D. Murray
19 C. Osmand
12 V. Sinisalo
Goals:
J. Kenny (30′, 40′)
B. Nygren (58′)
S. Tounekti (73′)
Assists:
Celtic,B. Nygren (40′), L. McCowan (73′)
Falkirk
Manager: John McGlynn
Formation: 4 – 2 – 3 – 1
19 S. Bain
28 F. Lissah, subbed for S. Hart at 62mins
05 L. Henderson
20 C. Allan
02 K. Adams
08 B. Spencer (c), Captain, subbed for H. Cartwright at 68mins
21 D. Tait
23 E. Ross 37′, Yellow Card at 37mins, subbed for E. Williams at 46mins
37 S. Arfield 59′, Yellow Card at 59mins
29 C. Miller, subbed for A. Agyeman at 62mins
47 T. Samuel-Ogunsuyi, subbed for B. Graham at 62mins
Subs:
11 A. Agyeman
17 H. Cartwright
07 B. Graham
42 S. Hart
01 N. Hogarth
09 R. MacIver
18 G. Oliver
24 E. Williams
22 K. Wilson
Goals:
Assists:
Referee Ryan Lee
Video Assistant Referee Grant Irvine
Assistant Referee 1 Ross MacLeod
Assistant Referee 2 David Dunne
Fourth Official Calum Scott
Assistant VAR Official Gary Hilland
Att:
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Stats
Basic Stats
Overall possession
Celtic 60.5% Falkirk 39.5%
Shots
Celtic 26 Falkirk 8
Shots on target
Celtic 11 Falkirk 4
Total touches inside the opposition box
Celtic 36 Falkirk 13
Goalkeeper saves
Celtic 4 Falkirk 7
Aerial duels won
Celtic 30 Falkirk 18
Fouls committed
Celtic 14 Falkirk 12
Corners
Celtic 6 Falkirk 3
In-depth match stats
Attack
Shots
Celtic 26 Falkirk 8
Shots on target
Celtic 11 Falkirk 4
Shots off target
Celtic 7 Falkirk 1
Attempts out of box
Celtic 4 Falkirk 5
Hit woodwork
Celtic 2 Falkirk 0
One-on-one attempts
Celtic 1 Falkirk 0
Total offsides
Celtic 1 Falkirk 5
Distribution
Total passes
Celtic 505 Falkirk 330
Pass accuracy %
Celtic 84.6 Falkirk 75.2
ackward passes
Celtic 83 Falkirk 66
Forward passes
Celtic 170 Falkirk 121
Forward passes
Total long balls
Celtic 56 Falkirk 61
Successful final third passes
Celtic 119 Falkirk 33
Total crosses
Celtic 26 Falkirk 13
Defence
Total tackles
Celtic 16 Falkirk 14
Won tackle %
Celtic 50 Falkirk 57.1
Fouls committed
Celtic 14 Falkirk 12
Total yellow cards
Celtic 1 Falkirk 2
Total clearances
Celtic 17 Falkirk 22
Articles
Celts secure three points with an impressive performance at Paradise
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/october/29/celts-secure-three-points-with-an-impressive-performance-at-paradise/
First Team
By Matthew Campbell
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29 Oct 2025, 9:50 pm
Scottish Premiership
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Celtic Park
CELTIC…4
(Kenny 30 & 40, Nygren 58, Tounekti 73)
FALKIRK…0
Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney’s term as Celtic’s interim management team got off to the perfect start as the Hoops defeated Falkirk 4-0 at Celtic Park thanks to a first-half brace from Johnny Kenny and second half goals from Benjamin Nygren and Sebastian Tounekti.
Tounekti found himself with a big opportunity to open the scoring early in the match when an Arne Engels cross from a corner kick was flicked on to the back post where the Tunisian was unmarked, but he mis-hit his effort, sending it back across the box rather than towards the target.
Marcelo Sarrachi linked up well with Tounekti on the left wing throughout the first 45 minutes, with the Uruguayan left back’s pace and energy causing problems for Falkirk and providing another attacking threat for the Hoops.
The opening goal came on the half-hour mark, when Johnny Kenny slotted home after a good save from Scott Bain. The move itself came about as a result of Anthony Ralston’s commitment to win the ball in the middle of the pitch, putting Celtic on the front foot.
Sebastian Tounekti slid the ball to Benjamin Nygren in the box, and although his shot was saved, Sligo man Johnny Kenny finished on the rebound.
The visitors looked to hit back straight away and Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi almost levelled the game with a good strike from inside the box, but Kasper Schmeichel was equal to it as he made a diving save down to his right.
Celtic took a 2-0 lead with five minutes of the first half remaining and, again, Johnny Kenny was the man to find the target. Anthony Ralston sent a tempting ball deep to the back post towards Nygren, who headed back across the six-yard box where Kenny was waiting to head it beyond Bain, making it 2-0.
In the minutes that followed the Hoops’ second strike, Falkirk found themselves hanging on desperately as Celtic piled the pressure on, with Marcelo Saracchi, Sebastian Tounekti and Benjamin Nygren all unlucky not to get their names on the scoresheet before the end of the half.
61%
Possession
40%
26
Shots
8
11
Shots On Target
4
6
Corners
3
14
Fouls
12
1
0
Cards
2
0
Celtic started the second half with the same intensity that they showed in the first 45 minutes, and less than a minute after the restart, Johnny Kenny sent a shot over the bar after being sent through on goal by Benjamin Nygren.
The Hoops made the three points secure with just shy of an hour gone in the match. Marcelo Saracchi’s effort from the edge of the area was saved by Scott Bain, but he could only parry the ball towards Benjamin Nygren, who fired his shot in to the back of the net to make it 3-0 and put the game beyond the visitors.
Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney began to make some changes, with Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Luke McCowan both introduced to the game. Daizen Maeda was also brought on, making his return after recovering from injury, with his introduction met with acclaim from the Paradise faithful.
Sebastian Tounekti was the next Celt to add his name to the scoresheet, and his first goal at Celtic Park was no more than his performance deserved.
Luke McCowan sent him on his way with a wonderful pass up the left wing, and the winger showed his quality as he burst in to the box and made the finish to put Celtic 4-0 up.
There were further changes for Celtic as the match wore on, as Callum McGregor and Sebastian Tounekti were taken off and replaced by Reo Hatate and Callum Osmand, the latter making his Celtic debut.
After tonight’s 4-0 victory and impressive performance, the Hoops will now move on to Sunday’s Glasgow derby in the League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Ralston, Trusty, Scales, Saracchi, Engels, McGregor (Hatate 77′), Forrest (Balikwisha 61′), Nygren (McCowan 66′), Tounekti (Osmand 76′), Kenny (Maeda 66′)
Subs: Balikwisha, Sinisalo, McCowan, Osmand, Paulo Bernardo, Maeda, Hatate, Murray, Donovan
Falkirk: Bain, Adams, Allan, Henderson, Lissah (Hart 62′), Tait, Spencer (Cartwright 68′), Miller (Agyeman 62′), Arfield, Ross (Williams 45′), Ogunsuyi (Graham 62′)
Subs: Hogarth, Graham, MacIver, Agyeman, Cartwright, Oliver, Wilson, Williams, Hart
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/ckg4n3xypkqt
At a glance
O’Neill wins his first game as Celtic manager in 20 years as he returns as interim
Kenny first-half double puts hosts in command after an open start
Nygren turns in third just before the hour with Tounekti’s fine run and finish round things off
ByMartin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park
Celtic narrowed the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership to six points as interim manager Martin O’Neill delivered an emphatic victory in his first game in charge in 20 years.
Johnny Kenny’s first-half double, followed by Benjamin Nygren and Sebastian Tounekti strikes, earned a comfortable victory for a side who had suffering successive league defeats.
The shock resignation of Brendan Rodgers on Monday and subsequent fall out only compounded what has been an increasingly turbulent campaign for Celtic.
Pre-match fan protests and the presence of principal shareholder Dermot Desmond in the main stand after his statement pointed blame at Rodgers for the negativity surrounding the club, only added to what has been an unprecedented circus.
On the park, they have struggled, falling eight points adrift of Hearts after being humbled at Tynecastle on Sunday. A bounce was badly needed against a Falkirk side who came into this off the back of two wins.
O’Neill reverted to experience, with three changes in defence and James Forrest deployed down the right flank.
A familiar pattern emerged, with Celtic showing intent, but they struggled to trouble goalkeeper Scott Bain at first.
The breakthrough came via the, at times wasteful, Nygren. He saw his strike bounce of a post with Kenny alert to fire in the rebound.
Falkirk came close to an immediate leveller when Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi was denied by Kasper Schmeichel but, from there, Celtic took a firm grip.
Kenny seized on Nygren’s knock down to net his double, then Nygren capitalised on Bain’s poor parry and Tounekti seized on his chance to finish from close range.
It could have been more as Celtic enjoyed welcome relief from everything that has engulfed the club ahead of a crucial cup semi-final against Rangers.
Analysis: O’Neill gets reaction
This played out pretty much as well as O’Neill might have hoped. In this most turbulent week for the club, a two-goal cushion was a dream outcome at the break and they built on that.
The intent to get forward quicker was there. It was clear there was instruction to change that.
One thing Celtic have lacked is a goalscoring focal point. Kelechi Iheanacho threatened a solution before injury but Kenny, finally, took his chance. He looked sharp and hungry for more.
A welcome boost to him and the team in general as was the substitute appearance of Daizen Maeda after injury.
If Nygren could finish more clinically, who knows how many he could net, but he gets into some wonderful positions consistently and did so from a central position repeatedly.
There’s a long way to go for Celtic to be fully back on track but this was a really positive step that lifted the mood ahead of Sunday’s League Cup semi-final against Rangers.
Falkirk had chances and again showed they can play. They stuck at it and look a capable Premiership side. It just began to run away from them.
They’ve started the season in a positive fashion and can feel good about what they’ve delivered so far, albeit they will not have enjoyed this outcome too much.
Martin O’Neill delighted to get off to a winning start on his return to Paradise
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/october/29/martin-o-neill-delighted-to-get-off-to-a-winning-start-on-his-return-to-paradise/
First Team
By Paul Cuddihy, Celtic View Editor
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29 Oct 2025, 10:22 pm
Martin O’Neill was delighted to get off to a winning start in his first game as Celtic interim manager, with the Hoops beating Falkirk 4-0 at home courtesy of goals from Benjamin Nygren, Sebastian Tounekti and a double from Johnny Kenny.
The Irishman took up the reins at Celtic, alongside Shaun Maloney and they steered the team to a victory and a return to winning ways in the league.
Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Martin O’Neill said: “Naturally I’m delighted – delighted with the team and I thought they played great.
‘They showed a great application, they showed what they could do and I’m delighted to have won.’
“For me, I’m just very relieved but also very pleased with the performances. There are things we can tighten up, the usual things, but we scored four goals tonight and we played against a really obdurate side so it was good. In terms of confidence, that will give us a boost.”
And there was praise for Celtic’s two-goal hero, with Johnny Kenny’s first-half double earning him the Man of the Match award.
“He did really well in the game,” said the manager. “He’s just a young lad and he’s learning his trade but he stuck the goals away like a centre-forward can do and, of course, that’s what wins games. We scored at good moments as well.”
Celtic fans hail return of Messiah but different story outside stadium as unexpected hero takes centre stage
Alan Pattullo
By Alan Pattullo
Chief Football Writer
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/latest-celtic-news/celtic-fans-hail-return-of-messiah-but-different-story-outside-stadium-as-unexpected-hero-takes-centre-stage-5380913
3Comments
Published 29th Oct 2025, 22:42 GMT
Mini Martin O’Neill era off to winning start as small inroad made into Hearts lead
Outside Celtic Park, they sang songs of protest amid billowing green smoke. Inside Celtic Park, they hailed the return of a messiah, a man once known in these parts as Saint Martin.
The hosts took their time to get going on a surreal evening in the east end of Glasgow but a goal after half an hour from Johnny Kenny got this new mini Martin O’Neill era underway in front of the watching Dermot Desmond.
So many plotlines. But someone few might have imagined distinguishing himself stole the show in the 65 minutes he was on the pitch and helped Celtic on the way to a victory that made a small inroad into Hearts’ lead at the top.
Celtic’s Johnny Kenny celebrates as he scores to make it 2-0 over Falkirk. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)
Celtic’s Johnny Kenny celebrates as he scores to make it 2-0 over Falkirk. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group) | SNS Group
Kenny had found himself being unfairly compared to Henrik Larsson on social media before kick-off.
Wags wondered what O’Neill’s reaction might be when he realised it was Kenny and not Henrik Larsson leading the line for Celtic these days. Well, the interim manager will count himself blessed. The Irish striker got a second goal five minutes before half time, which elicited a punch in the air from O’Neill. Things were now going to plan after a worrying opening spell when Falkirk looked confident. Celtic, meanwhile, started off looking very ordinary indeed.
It took a while for the crowd to warm up. After twenty minutes, the old “Martin O’Neill, Martin O’Neill” choruses began to echo around the stadium. It had been a different story outside the Parkhead porch before kick-off as fans gathered to make known their grievances against the board (naturally) and, interestingly, against Desmond, one of the club’s major shareholders and, increasingly, a target for vitriol.
Desmond, Desmond get tae you-know-where was heard on more than one occasion. The Irish financier made a point of being here having delivered such a bruising critique of the dying days of Brendan Rodgers’ second spell in charge on Monday night.
Celtic shareholder Dermot Desmond takes his seat during the match against Falkirk. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic shareholder Dermot Desmond takes his seat during the match against Falkirk. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group
All the drama of the start of the week was too late to save the match programme. It was pulled from sale on account of it being so ludicrously out of date already. It will fetch a pretty price no doubt if it hasn’t been pulped and copies start turning up on eBay. Everyone will want to read what Rodgers had to say in his manager notes.
As it turned out, it was O’Neill who welcomed John McGlynn to Celtic Park. The combined age of the managers was a refreshingly old school 136 years. O’Neill chose a pair of less baggy tracksuit bottoms than he once sported and wore a proper manager’s coat to guard against the chill. Well, he is 73 as opposed to 53, his age when he last managed Celtic in a competitive game at Parkhead (Celtic 2 Aberdeen 0, May 2025).
Football has moved on of course. But if not exactly going back to basics, it was still possible to see Chris Sutton rising at the far post when in fact it was Benjamin Nygren heading down to Larsson. No, I mean Kenny, who headed past Scott Bain for his second goal of the night five minutes before the interval.
His first came after Nygren’s shot had hit the post with Kenny on hand to sweep home. The 22-year-old striker had previously not been alone in looking far from the quality required. Nygren headed tamely into Bain’s hands and Sebastian Tounekti sclaffed wildly when presented with a chance at the back post.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, far from it. Scott Arfield ought to have scored in the opening minute for the visitors but sent his shot too near Kasper Schmeichel. Even after Celtic had gone ahead, it required a brilliant one-handed stop by the Celtic ‘keeper from Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi to preserve the hosts’ lead.
Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill celebrates as Benjamin Nygren scores to make it 3-0 over Falkirk. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)
Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill celebrates as Benjamin Nygren scores to make it 3-0 over Falkirk. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group
The second half was a more one-sided affair. A left-footed shot from Marcelo Saracchi – in for the absent Kieran Tierney – was pushed out into the danger area by Bain and Nygren applied the finish for 3-0.
Bain’s return to Parkhead was one of many intriguing storylines but was obliterated by the fuss over O’Neill. Although the ‘keeper was at fault in the run-up to Nygren’s goal he was pivotal in keeping the score down to just four.
Bain was left exposed for the final goal of the night after 73 minutes. Tounekti latched on to a fine ball up the left and hurdled a last, despairing challenge before slipping the ball past Bain for his first goal at Celtic Park.
The home players performed the usual lap of honour at the end but, unlike his predecessor Rodgers, O’Neill was not for joining in. He couldn’t get up the tunnel quick enough. Maybe he had an appointment with a bewhiskered Irish financier to keep.