Watch: Shankland’s Engels Taunt Backfires

It was the deadline day signings that sealed Celtic’s win on Sunday with Arne Engels and Luke McCowan made sure their presence was felt in a 2-0 victory over Hearts.

Engels, who joined from Augsburg for a club-record £11 million, confidently converted a penalty to put Celtic ahead. His performance on Saturday was great; despite some slackness at some points, you could tell that he was just a level above.

The moment of contention came during Engels’ penalty kick, where Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland and another teaMMAte attempted to unnerve him by questioning the price tag and applying verbal pressure. However, Engels showcased his mental toughness, ignoring the taunts and expertly placing the ball past the veteran goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, sending him the wrong way.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Celts Are Here (@herecelts)

Luke McCowan, another deadline day signing, came off the bench to secure the win with a goal that ricocheted in off the post, adding to Celtic’s coMMAnding start to the season. The win further solidifies Celtic’s defensive record, having not conceded a single goal in their first five league matches—a feat not seen since 1907.

There was another pleasing take from yesterday, and that was the strength of Celtic’s bench. Having the luxury to bring on the likes of Idah, McCowan, Bernardo, Forrest, and Palma have no big drop off in quality is something that, in previous years, hasn’t been the case for a Celtic manager.