Matt O’Riley’s Brighton Disappointment Shows His Celtic Instincts

Former Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley is annoyed that Brighton and Hove Albion are sitting eighth in the English Premier League.

The 23-year-old is used to playing with the Hoops, where the stakes couldn’t be higher, and anything but a victory on the domestic scene is a disaster.

Although he is now playing in a much better-quality league, Brighton’s standards aren’t as high as those at Celtic.

O’Riley, though, is still accustomed to how things were at Parkhead, and that was no more apparent than in his recent comments about the Seagulls’ position in the league table: “I don’t like sitting eighth in the table,” he told The Argus.

“I’ve just come from Celtic, so of course, I’m used to a place where they win all the time.

“But the intention should always be to be as high up the table as you can. I don’t see why not.”

O’Riley made a sensational return from a horrific injury at the weekend to score his maiden Brighton goal. The Denmark international was injured six minutes into his debut for the club back in August and resultantly had to get surgery.

He spent a few months on the sidelines but returned in fine fashion on Saturday evening, scoring the decider against current English champions Manchester City.

Latching onto a through pass in behind the City backline, the attack-minded midfielder rattled the ball past a helpless Ederson to spark jubilant scenes.

After the elation of bagging a late winner from the bench, O’Riley will now want to kick on at the Amex as Brighton return to action next weekend against fellow South Coast outfit Bournemouth.