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Matt O’Riley Lifts Lid On Ibrox Panenka

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Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley was the coolest man in Glasgow a few weeks ago as he dinked the ball past Jack Butland from the spot to put the Hoops 2-0 up against their city rivals.

Although the Game ended in a draw, it was an unforgettable moment for a man who was just nominated for PFA Player of the Year.

Matt O'Riley Celtic
Soccer Football – Scottish Premiership – Rangers v Celtic – Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – April 7, 2024 Celtic’s Matt O’Riley celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

Indeed, O’Riley has had a sensational season, registering 30 goal contributions in 44 appearances across all comPetitions.

Contracted in Glasgow until 2027, the upcoming summer will be an intriguing one regarding his future.

There will be undoubted transfer interest in the 23-year-old but he is a level-headed figure. That was proved in the most recent Glasgow derby.

O’Riley showed incredible poise to ‘Panenka’ Butland in the most hostile of environments. Remarkably, he wasn’t fazed in the slightest.

He said: [RecordSport] “I was pretty set on doing that, to be honest. I was quite confident Jack Butland was going to dive, and fortunately he did. If he didn’t, it would have been a different story!

“I can laugh about it now… I felt relaxed and confident about it at the time. Thankfully it went in. I genuinely wasn’t thinking it was brave or anything. I just felt that was the best decision in that moment.

“If you lift it slowly in the middle you can have a better chance than blasting it hard, as it can catch a leg or something. I just wanted to lift it and it worked. I’d practised it in training so I knew I was going to do it.

“It’s not the kind of Game you want to second guess yourself. We were 1-0 up at that point so perhaps felt even more calm. It sounds strange, but I really wasn’t nervous, purely because I was so mentally prepared.”

Celtic have had their issues from the spot this season but the Dane, at least for now, appears to have solved them.

One assumes he is now the primary penalty taker but in the shootout against Aberdeen just over a week ago, both Adam Idah and Luis Palma stepped up before O’Riley, raising question marks over who the first-choice is taker going forward.

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