Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain needed little time to remind Liverpool fans what he can do during his Celtic debut on Wednesday night.
After nearly six months without a club, the former Liverpool midfielder has admitted that Celtic were already on his mind before the deal was done, with a couple of familiar faces pushing him towards Glasgow.
Oxlade-Chamberlain revealed that conversations with ex-Hoops keeper Joe Hart at James Milner’s birthday, and constant messages from close friend Andy Robertson, helped seal the move. Hart told him his time at Celtic had been the best years of his career, while Robertson – who came through the club’s academy – urged him to “get in the car and go up there.”
The 30-year-old has signed a short-term deal until the end of the season with an option for a further year. And it looks like all that persuasion paid off in spectacular fashion at Celtic Park last night. Introduced from the bench in the second half against Livingston with the game finely poised at 1-1 after Marcelo Saracchi’s opener was cancelled out by Robbie Muirhead’s penalty, Oxlade-Chamberlain was tasked with finding a moment of quality.
Deep into stoppage time, he delivered: collecting the ball on the edge of the box, he curled a precise finish into the far corner to snatch a 2-1 win and keep Celtic within touching distance of leaders Hearts, with a game in hand.
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain hadn’t played football for 9 months.
And scores this absolute beauty in the 90th min to win it for Celtic 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JlTWdnnq7s
— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) February 12, 2026
Speaking after the game, the former Liverpool man said to reporters:
“It’s been difficult. Sometimes the way things go in football, especially when you cross that 30-years-of-age barrier, you’re not as valuable as you once were in a business sense,” he said. “I knew I still had a lot to give and training every day for the last three months where I was training gave me the confidence that I can still offer a lot to the game.”
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