Match Pictures | Matches: 2026 – 2027
Trivia
- KO: 15:00, Celtic TV only, league match 8
- Back after internationals.
- Celtic remain top of the league but just by 2pts on 21pts (+12GD) with Sevco on 19pts (+6GD). Sevco have the real momentum at present, 3-0 winners v Kilmarnock.
- Protest banners against the board, but also a great Tifo in the away end in tribute to Danny McGrain recently announced to have alzheimers.
- Jota returns after long injury layoff. CCV and Trusty out injured. Jota’s 100th Celtic match
- Martin O’Neill’s 250th Celtic win.
- CCV out for Sunday but expected back for Hearts. Yang out 4 weeks.
- Camilo Duran’s seventh goal of the season has Celtic deservedly ahead.
- Martin O’Neill remains as Celtic manager, it was widely thought that he was going to step down over the past couple of weeks after recent poor results. Former Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna is taking time to consider his next job amid links with Celtic.
- Yang: Secured Asian Games triumph with South Korea u23s, beating Japan 1-0 in the final,no longer needs to do military service.
- Haissem Hassan pulled out of the Egyptian squad due to injury. Tierney pulled out of Scotland squad due to injury. Nygren scored for Sweden then isolated after taking ill with flu virus, left early. Baur subbed on to get his first cap, 1000th player to represent Germany. Camilo Duran debut for Colombia in 1-0 defeat to Paraguay. Underperforming Tounekti back early after Tunisia cancelled friendly.
- Scotland defeated Macedonia but also drew & lost v Slovenia.
- Liam Scales dropped (and didn’t play) in first Ireland v Israel game played in very fraught circumstances, Ireland won comfortably 3-0. Ireland drew 2-2 v Austria, but were two up until he was subbed off! Ireland drew final match 1-1 v Israel.
- Tennent Sixes: Celtic win the title with surprise 5-4 victory in the final v Sevco (day before Sevco defeated Celtic 7-1)! It’s a rebooted format now for old former players.
- Rumours of possible takeover attempt by a consortium inc former manager Brendan Rodgers, main man is apparently Willie Haughey, but this is all speculation started by ex-Celt Frank McAvennie claims on his podcast.
- Celtic financials – Results for year ended 30 June 2026: loss after tax of £4.8m, v £33.9m year ago. Revenue down by 22.7 per cent to £111m (£143.6m in 2025), bank balance £66.4m v£77.3m in 2025, “primarily as a result of dropping into the Europa League as compared to the Champions League in the prior year.” https://www.research-tree.com/newsfeed/article/celtic-plc-results-for-the-year-ended-30-june-2026-3465263/nid/3465263
- Figures also reflect “success” of boycott actioned by the support over past year in protest at poor management of the club.
- Jota played 45 mins and came through unscathed in a 2-0 behind-closed-doors Celtic win vs Falkirk at Lennoxtown.
- Celtic say they will “indefinitely ban” anyone “established to be involved in planning, facilitating or participating” in a protest against the club’s largest shareholder Dermot Desmond at the Alfred Dunhill Links golf tournament in St Andrews.Tennis balls with pictures of the 76-year-old’s face scored out were thrown on to the green of the 15th hole of the pro-am competition, with images showing Desmond later having to be escorted off the course by security. It was a purile and immature stunt that many in the support did not agree with but others did sympathise, it wasn’t reflecting well on the current situation.
- Ex-Celt Ramon Vega says he intends to stand as a candidate in next year’s Fifa presidential election. He’s pulled these publicity stunts numerous times in the past for attention.
- BBC news: reporting that football shirts ie Adidas the makers of Celtic shirts, are paying workers less than a pound a hour. Unacceptable.
- Reports:
- Brazilian journalist Alexandre Ernst reported that Internacional failed to keep up payments to Celtic for Bernabei. Could now lead to FIFA action.He said: “Inter is expected to face a transfer ban involving the payment for Bernabei to Celtic.The instalments for the Argentine are not being paid, and the full-back is one of the players the club believes will receive a notification from football’s governing body.”
- Rumours that Tiémoué Bakayoko having a medical at Celtic. POST: Apparently on the potential Bakayoko deal, just maintaining his fitness, training with the club. There’s no deal.
Summary
Jota lot of praisepublished at 15:02 BST 11 October 15:02 BST 11 October FT: Motherwell 0-2 Celtic Celtic winger Jota made his first appearance in 18 months following injury and looked lively as a substitute. “Isn’t it nice to see him back,” manager Martin O’Neill tells BBC Scotland. “He’s a firm favourite with the crowd and, as the days and weeks go on, he will improve in terms of fitness. “I didn’t think he would be back as quickly as he is. He’s done brilliantly to get into the condition he’s in and there’s a bit of frustration [that he’s not in the Europa League squad].” Centre-half Cameron Carter-Vickers was missing through injury at Fir Park. “I don’t know if Cameron Carter-Vickers will make the Benfica game, but it’s not too bad,” O’Neill adds.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has been expressing his delight at the victory over Motherwell that has taken his side back to the top of the Premiership. “Delighted with the performance,” he tells BBC Scotland. “The team played really well. Maybe could have scored a few more goals, but we created a lot and that was desperately encouraging. “Colby [Donovan] is having a terrific time for us – he’s got a big heart and is adding other bits to his game. Dane [Murray] could be anything – he’s got a good pass on him and he could develop into a really good player.” Of goalscorer Benjamin Nygren, O’Neill adds: “He’s back on the scoresheet again, that’s what he thrives on. If midfield players score goals, they are worth their weight in gold. “It’s psychologically a big boost to play as well as we did and go back to the top of the table.”
John Collins Former Celtic midfielder on BBC Sportsound It’s a good victory and a good all-round performance by Celtic. The only disappointing thing is that they couldn’t get more goals. Martin O’Neill will be delighted.
Jota makes his appearance to rapturous applause from the visiting fans, and almost makes an immediate impact, the winger’s low cross being cleared before it finds Hassan.
Social media:
KDS forum:
We were good today, and I’m pleased. But I was quite surprised by how bad Motherwell were. We are still there for the taking if pressed. They seemed to have no interest in going for us, until they brought Said on. It was like they gave us too much respect. A rare example of the opposition manager meaning what he said pre-match. My fears about us against better opposition notwithstanding, we could genuinely have put double figures past them today. Tounetki was getting pelters in the match thread, but I thought he was good. Baur is top class, and would have been a mainstay in either Ange or Rodgers’ teams. McGregor was good. Both full backs were excellent. I still think we lack a bit of urgency. Tounetki, Nygren and McGregor the main culprits there. But it was a comfortable away win against a side that’s caused us a lot of problems in recent times. And seeing Jota back on the pitch has put a smile on my face. Game changer. That triple change was nice, actually. Been a while since we’ve been able to change three at once and not lose something.
Crosspa of KDS forum:
A really positive afternoon. I thought we played well and should have scored more. To be fair, their keeper made a number of good saves and on another day, we take a few more chances. Great to have Jota back and he was good in his cameo. Withe AJ, CCV, Trusty, Yang and Osmand returning, the squad is in decent shape. Hopefully Emenalo can make a positive contribution as well. I didn’t think Motherwell caused us too many problems. Most of their chances came from our mistakes. We still need to track runners better and close down the space. Would be nice if we cut the slackness out our play at the back. I’m disappointed in Hogh. For the money spent, he’s not doing enough. I know he had an assist but Nygren still had a lot to do. He keeps tripping over the ball and getting it tangled in his feet. He’s a downgrade on Idah. I actually think Mheuka is better than him. Hopefully we can put in a good performance in Lisbon and beat Hearts next week. That would be a good response and settle things down on the field. Huns have a tricky game away to Dundee next Saturday. You never know! Motherwell are a shadow of the side from last season.
Teams
Celtic
Manager: Martin O’Neill
Formation: 4 – 2 – 3 – 1
Starting lineup
01, V. Sinisalo
63, K. Tierney,82′, Yellow Card at 82 mins, subbed for J. Lotomba at 82 mins
05, L. Scales
47, D. Murray
51, C. Donovan
22, M. Baur
42, C. McGregor (c), Captain
17, S. Tounekti, subbed for Jota at 74 mins
08, B. Nygren, subbed for O. Sørensen at 78 mins
11, C. Durán, subbed for Haissem Hassan at 73 mins
09, K. Høgh, subbed for S. Mheuka at 73 mins
Subs:
49, J. Forrest
23, Haissem Hassan
26, S. Johnstone
03, J. Lotomba,85′, Yellow Card at 85 mins
29, S. Mheuka
07, Jota
21, A. Oxlade-Chamberlain
18, O. Sørensen
06, A. Trusty
Goals:
C. Durán (9′)
B. Nygren (58′)
Assists:
K. Høgh (58′)
Motherwerll
Manager: Alfred Johansson
Formation: 4 – 2 – 3 – 1
Starting lineup
01, A. Paulsen
45, E. Longelo
05, M. Moormann
02, S. O’Donnell (c), Captain, subbed for J. Girdwood-Reich at 83 mins
07, T. Sparrow
63, D. Levitt, subbed for E. Björgólfsson at 71 mins
08, L. Fadinger
71, J. Hodge,41′, Yellow Card at 41 mins
11, A. Lowry, subbed for T. Maswanhise at 83 mins
77, W. Vogt, subbed for I. Said at 60 mins
47, S. Palmer-Houlden, subbed for J. Kanga at 71 mins
Subs:
27, M. Booth
21, M. Connelly
03, J. Girdwood-Reich
13, J. Kanga
04, J. Knight-Lebel
18, T. Maswanhise
06, J. McGhee
19, I. Said
15, E. Björgólfsson
Goals:
Assists:
Match Officials
Referee: Steven McLean
Video Assistant Referee: Don Robertson
Assistant Referee 1: Jonathan Bell
Assistant Referee 2: Ross Nelson
Fourth Official: George Calder
Assistant VAR Official: Calum Scott
Venue:Fir Park
Attendance:10,682
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Match Links
Stats
Basic Stats
Overall possession
Motherwell 34%
Celtic 66%
Shots
Motherwell 8
Celtic 25
Shots on target
Motherwell 2
Celtic 15
Total touches inside the opposition box
Motherwell 20
Celtic 63
MOT
CEL
Goalkeeper saves
Motherwell 12
Celtic 2
Aerial duels won
Motherwell 8
Celtic 7
Fouls committed
Motherwell 3
Celtic 4
Corners
Motherwell 2
Celtic 9
In-depth match stats
Attack
Shots
Motherwell 8
Celtic 25
Shots on target
Motherwell 2
Celtic 15
Shots off target
Motherwell 3
Celtic 2
Attempts out of box
Motherwell 2
Celtic 6
Hit woodwork
Motherwell 0
Celtic 1
One-on-one attempts
Motherwell 0
Celtic 1
Total offsides
Motherwell 2
Celtic 1
Distribution
Total passes
Motherwell 389
Celtic 764
Pass accuracy %
Motherwell 85.6
Celtic 92
Backward passes
Motherwell 67
Celtic 114
Forward passes
Motherwell 125
Celtic 188
Total long balls
Motherwell 37
Celtic 46
Successful final third passes
Motherwell 87
Celtic 233
Total crosses
Motherwell 20
Celtic 36
Defence
Total tackles
Motherwell 15
Celtic 14
Won tackle %
Motherwell 60
Celtic 64.3
Fouls committed
Motherwell 3
Celtic 4
Total yellow cards
Motherwell 1
Celtic 2
Total clearances
Motherwell 37
Celtic 31
Clearances off the line
Motherwell 1
Celtic 0
Articles
BBC
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/cqdjv37mx21mt#Report
At a glance
Celtic end three-match losing run and return to top of Scottish Premiership
Low Duran strike puts Celtic in front early on before Nygren adds a second after half-time
Motherwell goalkeeper Paulsen keeps scoreline respectable with a series of excellent saves
ByGeorge O’Neill
BBC Sport Scotland
Celtic returned to the top of the Scottish Premiership and recovered from their pre-international break woes with a comprehensive victory at Motherwell.
Having lost three successive matches before the three-week hiatus, the champions went in front through Camilo Duran’s low drive on nine minutes and bossed proceedings from there.
Against a Motherwell side also struggling for confidence, Celtic squandered a host of chances either side of half-time, before Benjamin Nygren scrambled home a richly-deserved second after being teed up by Kasper Hogh.
The Celtic onslaught continued, but home goalkeeper Alex Paulsen kept the scoring down with a string of superb saves.
Motherwell never really threatened to get back into the game, with striker Seb Palmer-Houlden heading their best opportunity wide.
Alfred Johansson’s side have now lost four games on the spin and the optimism built by early-season results in Europe has all but dissipated.
They are ninth in the table, three points above bottom club Kilmarnock, while Celtic are two points above rivals Rangers.
Motherwell v Celtic highlights
11/10/2026
Watch on iPlayer
Celtic analysis: Much-needed three points and confidence boost
Off the back of two defeats by Rangers and a shock Europa League loss against Ferencvaros, there were question marks over Martin O’Neill’s desire to continue in the Celtic dugout.
After a period of reflection, the 74-year-old last week insisted he was “just as determined now than ever before” to lead the club and the win at Fir Park was O’Neill’s 250th in a glittering Celtic career that stretches back to 2000.
Amid yet more fan protests against major shareholder Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s result and the performance provided a much-needed tonic for O’Neill and the travelling support.
Yes, there could and probably should have been more goals and club-record signing Kasper Hogh’s wait for a goal goes on – the Dane has only scored in one of his first 10 Celtic appearances – but this was a dominant performance.
Mika Baur was excellent in the middle of the park after making his Germany debut earlier this month and was unfortunate not to score when a clever flick from close range hit the bar.
Perhaps the most heartening moment of the afternoon for those of a Celtic persuasion came with 15 minutes to go as Jota made his first appearance in almost 18 months.
The roar from the away end as the Portuguese winger came off the bench spoke volumes. It will undoubtedly take time for him to get back up to speed after such a long injury lay-off, but a fully-fit Jota would bring the quality O’Neill has craved since he returned to the Celtic hotseat.
Sterner tests await with Benfica and Celta Vigo in the Europa League either side of a league clash with Hearts, but Celtic did what they had to at Fir Park.
00:24
Figure caption,
Jota celebrates with Celtic fans after 18 months out with injury
Motherwell analysis: Paulsen spares blushes as losing run goes on
In contrast, this was another chastening afternoon for Johansson and Motherwell.
Replacing Jens Berthel Askou and dealing with the departures of key players such as Stephen Welsh, Elijah Just and Elliot Watt was never going to be a straightforward task, but Johansson needs a result quickly.
The hosts’ best moments in attack came after Ibrahim Said was brought on as a substitute for the anonymous Willy Vogt. The Nigerian attacking midfielder brought a much-needed spark, but even then, chances of note were few and far between.
Johansson has made no secret of his desire to play attractive, high-energy football, but they were alarmingly open at times.
Celtic had 19 shots in the hosts’ box and Paulsen was exposed time and again, making 12 saves in total.
That is eight goals conceded in Motherwell’s past three matches – a trend Johansson needs to address quickly if they are to arrest their slide.
They go to Kilmarnock next weekend before three games in six days finish the month, against Hearts, St Johnstone and St Mirren.
What the managers said
00:45
Figure caption,
Motherwell will ‘continue to work towards identity’ – Johansson
Motherwell manager Alfred Johansson: “We are the second best team today, Celtic are better than us.
“We were not sharp enough in and around their box. Second half we started OK, then you concede the second goal in the way we did. After that, we tried to be positive and we created a couple of chances.
“Motherwell has a clear football philosophy. This is something I and the players are fully behind. Building a new team is not done overnight. We will get more players back from injury, young players will grow, but we will not change anything [in terms of style].
“It’s clear we need to improve. We will work hard to do better in the future.”
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill: “Delighted with the performance. The team played really well. Maybe could have scored a few more goals, but we created a lot and that was desperately encouraging.
“It’s psychologically a big boost to play as well as we did and go back to the top of the table.
“Isn’t it nice to see [Jota] back. He’s a firm favourite with the crowd and as the days and weeks go on, he will improve in terms of fitness.”
Jota comeback helps Celtic lift gloom in strong response
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cqwy7nr5lry0o
Mika Baur and JotaImage source, SNS
Image caption,
Jota (right) suffered a cruciate ligament injury at Tannadice in April 2025
ByGeorge O’Neill
BBC Sport Scotland
Published
1 hour ago
After weeks of acrimony at Celtic, the full-time scenes at Fir Park on Sunday provided welcome cheer for a disgruntled fanbase.
Off the back of three straight defeats before the international break – two of them inflicted by rivals Rangers – Martin O’Neill’s side returned to winning ways as they deservedly beat struggling Motherwell 2-0 and returned to the Scottish Premiership summit.
Camilo Duran fired the visitors in front early on and midfielder Benjamin Nygren made sure of victory in the second half.
On top of the performance and result, influential winger Jota made his long-awaited return from injury after almost 18 months on the sidelines and it was the Portuguese who led the post-match celebrations.
Jota had been introduced as a 74th-minute substitute and almost provided an assist with his first touches in a lively cameo.
“I was waiting on this for a long time,” he told Sky Sports. “Just happy to be back. I’ve been working hard, the guys have been helping me as well. It was just the normal nerves, but after I stepped on the pitch everything goes well.”
The 27-year-old was asked about the mental toll of his long spell out of action.
“Imagine if someone takes away your child and I’ve got my child back today – that’s how I’ve been feeling the last year,” he said.
“I found my child again today and I just want to keep it as long as I can.
“I’m feeling very good and I’m ready to play more and more and help the team. I know what I can do.”
00:24
Figure caption,
Jota celebrates with Celtic fans after 18 months out with injury
Celtic back on top as win at Motherwell halts losing run
Decision to stay at Celtic did not take long – O’Neill
Published
2 days ago
‘O’Neill has his mojo back’
The party atmosphere at full-time was in stark contrast to the general gloom that has surrounded the club lately.
On top of the disappointing run of results before the international break, Celtic’s largest shareholder, Dermot Desmond, was the target of a protest during the Alfred Dunhill Links golf tournament in St Andrews.
O’Neill questioned whether he had the energy to continue as manager after Rangers won at Parkhead last month, before committing to stay on.
“I could only imagine the pressure on Martin O’Neill – I know what it’s like in Glasgow if you are beaten by Rangers twice,” former Scotland defender Willie Miller said.
“But it seems like he’s got his mojo back and is back to his old form and that’s what results do.
“All round, when you look at his team, it must give him a lot of satisfaction.”
O’Neill himself added: “Of course, there was a lot of noise and a lot of it we brought on ourselves as well too. So, nice to win.
“We have to take the criticism at the time. We lost three matches in a week – two to our big rivals. But we fought back today and let’s see what Thursday brings.
00:37
Figure caption,
‘Psychological boost to go top again’
What Thursday brings is undoubtedly a sterner test for O’Neill and Celtic with Portuguese giants Benfica lying in wait in the Europa League.
Celtic then host Hearts – who Benfica beat 7-2 on aggregate in European qualifiers earlier this term – before facing Celta Vigo in another stiff Europa League test.
They missed a heap of chances against Motherwell, with opposition goalkeeper Alex Paulsen making 12 saves, but O’Neill was not concerned by his side’s profligacy.
“We had a lot of chances and we could have [scored more],” he said.
“The first goal’s really important, a great goal by Camilo and it settled us down which was good.
“A lot of things have flashed across the box, a number of chances in both halves, but delighted to win.
“Just really pleased. Pleased with the performance, pleased with the energy that we showed and delighted to win.
“It’s psychologically a big boost to play as well as we did and go back to the top of the table.”
…
Midfield power from Baur
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/october/11/midfield-power-from-baur/
First Team
By Joe Sullivan
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11 Oct 2026, 3:39 pm
There were many star performers in Celtic’s table-topping 2-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park and among them was Mika Baur.
Fresh from winning his first international cap in Jürgen Klopp’s German side during the break, the Hoops midfielder put in possibly his best performance in a Celtic shirt since joining the club.
The 22-year-old said: “I’m very, very happy with the performance because it was a very important game today after how we finished the first period before the international break.”
Time and time again the Celts broke down the sitting Motherwell midfield and their rearguard, so much so that the score could have been more than the 2-0 outcome.
Baur said of his scoring chances: “I had, I think, two in the first half. One or two in the second as well.
“That’s on me to score there, absolutely. But, yeah, I think that will happen in the next game, so again just stay calm and be in the situations, be there to have the situations, have the shots on target, and then hopefully in the next games I will score again.
‘I think we should have scored more goals. There were a lot of chances.’
“The score could be 3-0 or 4-0 maybe at the end. But it’s not always that easy.
“The goalkeeper was really good as well. But it’s a performance to build on, absolutely.
“That’s a good start after the international break. And we have a lot of games now to just keep improving in the coming weeks.”
Champions two goals and three points to the good at Fir Park
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/october/11/Champions-two-goals-and-three-points-to-the-good-at-Fir-Park/
Match Report
By Daylin Docherty
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11 Oct 2026, 2:06 pm
Scottish Premiership
Sunday, October 11, 2026
Fir Park, Motherwell
MOTHERWELL…0
CELTIC…2
(Durán 9, Nygren 58)
Celtic returned to the top of the Premiership table with a dominant 2-0 victory over Motherwell at Fir Park.
Goals from Camilo Durán and Benjamin Nygren secured all three points for Martin O’Neill’s side, while Jota made his long-awaited return to action in the second half, 533 days after his last Celtic appearance.
The Hoops made the perfect start with their first meaningful attack of the game after nine minutes. Good interplay between Callum McGregor and Durán saw the Columbian regain possession before shaping to shoot from outside the box, and his low drive beat Alex Paulsen to give Celtic the lead with his seventh goal of the season.
Durán almost doubled his tally two minutes later when Kieran Tierney flashed the ball across the penalty area. The striker controlled before volleying towards goal, but Longelo was there to clear off the line.
Celtic continued to put the home defence under sustained pressure, and Mika Baur was next to threaten from the edge of the area. His effort took a deflection off Tom Sparrow and almost wrong-footed Paulsen, who reacted well to save with his feet.
Baur went close again after 16 minutes when McGregor lofted the ball into the box. The German internationalist reacted after Martin Moormann failed to clear and sent a low volley towards goal, but Paulsen got down to make the save.
Motherwell began to find a way into the game midway through the half, and their first attempt on the Celtic goal came in the 25th minute when Lukas Fadinger broke into the penalty area. Viljami Sinisalo could not hold the right-footed effort, but the Celtic defence recovered to clear the danger for a corner.
Celtic deservedly went into the interval with the advantage, although the final ball remained the one area Martin O’Neill’s side would have wanted to improve on after creating a number of promising openings.
34%
Possession
66%
8
Shots
25
2
Shots On Target
15
2
Corners
9
3
Fouls
4
1
0
Cards
2
0
The visitors immediately went looking for a second after the restart. McGregor made a clever run into the penalty area before delivering a right-footed cross towards Kasper Høgh, but the Dane was unable to direct his effort towards goal.
There was another sustained spell of Celtic pressure in the 52nd minute. Colby Donovan tried his luck from distance and forced Paulsen to parry the ball wide, before Tierney’s low left-footed effort was also kept out by the Motherwell goalkeeper.
Moments later McGregor’s curling strike was blocked inside the area by Fadinger. There was a brief VAR check for a possible handball, but play continued.
Celtic kept pushing, with Tierney and Sebastian Tounekti combining well down the left before the full-back’s delivery found Baur. His header was saved by Paulsen.
Baur then came even closer when Tounekti drove another low ball into the six-yard box. The midfielder appeared to back-heel the delivery towards goal, but the ball came back off the top of the post.
The pressure finally told in the 58th minute.
Baur won possession as Motherwell looked to attack, allowing Celtic to break five against three. His pass towards Høgh appeared to have been cut out by Stephen O’Donnell, but the striker won the ball back before driving into the box and squaring for Nygren. The Swedish midfielder showed excellent composure to take the ball around Paulsen before curling it into the top corner for his seventh goal of the season and Celtic’s deserved second.
Durán almost added another immediately afterwards when he capitalised on a mix-up in the Motherwell penalty area. He attempted to round Paulsen, but his subsequent cross could not find a team-mate.
McGregor was then denied a spectacular third in the 69th minute. The captain collected possession outside the box, shifted the ball on to his left foot and drove towards the top corner, only for Paulsen to produce an excellent diving save.
There was a special moment for Jota with 17 minutes remaining when the winger replaced Tounekti to make his first Celtic appearance in 533 days following his long-term knee injury.
The Portuguese was given a thunderous reception by the travelling support as he also registered his 100th appearance for the club. Haissem Hassan and Shin Mheuka were introduced at the same time, replacing Durán and Høgh.
Hassan almost created Celtic’s third four minutes later with some brilliant footwork inside the box before flashing the ball across goal, where Mheuka was inches away from turning it home.
Oliver Sørensen replaced Nygren in the 78th minute, before Mheuka had an opportunity of his own after pouncing on a loose ball from Fadinger. The young forward drove towards goal but was eventually crowded out as Paulsen blocked the effort.
Jordan Lotomba replaced Tierney in the closing stages, while Jota almost marked his return with an assist in the final minute when he cut on to his right foot and crossed for Sørensen, whose header was tipped over by Paulsen.
It completed a commanding afternoon for Celtic, who secured a deserved 2-0 victory and returned to the top of the Premiership table.
Martin O’Neill’s side now turn their attention to European action and a trip to Lisbon to face Benfica in the UEFA Europa League.
Motherwell: Paulsen, Sparrow, O’Donnell (Girdwood-Reich 83′), Moormann, Longelo, Fadinger, Levitt (Bjørgolfsson 71′), Vogt (Said 60′), Lowry (Maswanhise 83′), Hodge, Palmer-Houlden (Kanga 71′)
Subs: Girdwood-Reich, Knight-Lebel, McGhee, Kanga, Bjørgolfsson, Maswanhise, Said, Connelly, Booth
Celtic: Sinisalo, Donovan, Murray, Scales, Tierney (Lotomba 82′), McGregor, Baur, Durán (Haissem Hassan 73′), Nygren (Sørensen 78′), Tounekti (Jota 74′), Høgh (Mheuka 73′)
Subs: Lotomba, Trusty, Jota, Sørensen, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Haissem Hassan, Johnstone, Mheuka, Forrest
Martin O’Neill’s 250th Celtic win
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2026/october/11/martin-o-neill-s-250th-celtic-win/
First Team
By Joe Sullivan
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11 Oct 2026, 3:10 pm
This afternoon’s 2-0 win marked the 250th occasion that Martin O’Neill has steered Celtic to victory, and those three points collected in the 2-0 win over Motherwell kept the champions at the top of the table following the weekend fixtures.
Goals in either half from Camilo Durán and Benjamin Nygren took the points in a game in which Celtic’s all-round performance could easily have delivered a far more commanding scoreline, and it was that display that pleased the Irishman.
He told Celtic TV: “I’m delighted in the manner in which we played.
‘The performance was terrific. We could have scored a few more goals as well.’
“But with the chances that we created, that was very, very encouraging.”
A lot of that control came from the enthusiasm in the middle of the pitch, and Mika Baur in particular was turning up here, there and everywhere in aiding and abetting the Celtic attack.
The manager said: “I thought he was terrific today, really terrific, considering there’s not much to him in terms of physicality, but he can definitely play the game and I thought he was very impressive.”
Both scorers, Durán and Nygren, took their individual tallies to seven goals each this term, and the manager was delighted with their input to the outcome of the game
He added: “The first goal was really vital today, you know, because after the week or two that we’ve had, if you go a goal behind in the match, it might be a long way back.
“So that goal was very, very important. Durán took it brilliantly, again, brilliantly, as he has done this season and Nygren back on the score sheet – goal-scoring midfield players are worth their weight in goals, so that’s something that he can do.”
One of the biggest cheers of the day, though, came when Jota returned to the fold after 533 days out through injury.
Martin O’Neill said: “It was fantastic, really, really fantastic, and I’m sure he’ll feel great about it.
“He comes on to a thunderous reception, he’s very, very popular with the crowd, as he probably should be because of what he has done in previous times but overall I’m delighted with him.
“He’s back. It’s a wee bit like having a new player. And as the weeks, days, months go on, he’ll get fitter and fitter.
“Hopefully he stays clear of serious injury again and then we’ll see a real proper player.”