Celtic hero Matt O’Riley returned to Premier League duty for Brighton with a bang against Liverpool last night.
O’Riley has had a rough start to his career with Brighton after a serious injury picked up on his debut put the former Celtic man out for months.
The Denmark international has spent much of the season on the sidelines making cameo appearances here and there for Brighton but, last night, the Celtic icon showed why he was worth paying £25m for.
O’Riley wowed the Brighton fans after his assist created the late winner that beat Liverpool 3-2 and now, Ally McCoist and fellow talkSPORT host Jeff Stelling have made two claims about the 24-year-old.
Photo by Jan Kruger - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Jan Kruger – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Ally McCoist admits Matt O’Riley was ‘excellent’ at Celtic as Jeff Stelling makes Brighton fan claim
McCoist was reacting to O’Riley’s performance last night and as he waxed lyrical about the former Celtic star co-host Stelling claimed he still has a lot of work to do to win over the Brighton fans.
McCoist told talkSPORT, “I’m really pleased for him because I’ve got to say I thought he was excellent at Celtic. He really was.”
Stelling: “Yeah, he’s had a really tough time.”
McCoist: “And then he got that terrible injury in his first game due to a really poor challenge in an FA Cup tie but good to see him back.”
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Stelling: “I think he’s still to win over a lot of the fans down there.”
McCoist: “I don’t disagree with that.”
Stelling: “But that will help.”
McCoist: “That’s the way to do it.”
Matt O’Riley’s key Celtic and Brighton goals
O’Riley has made 22 appearances for Brighton since his big 2024 summer move from Celtic.
He made an instant impact as O’Riley scored this goal on his debut for the Premier League club:
However, for Celtic, the Denmark international scored 27 goals for Celtic but is this one against Rangers the best of the lot:
A cheeky Panenka in the Ibrox cauldron was probably one of the coolest penalties seen against Rangers in their home ground.
O’Riley’s future at Brighton has hit the headlines this week but after his contribution last night, he has sent his club a message that he still has plenty to offer them in the coming seasons.