Tap-in is as good as a bicycle kick for hero

Success breeds confidence and there can be little doubt that Moussa Dembele has been a hit since his arrival in Glasgow from Fulham three months ago.

A bargain basement £500,000 compensation fee was all it took for Celtic to land the 19-year-old, who harvested 17 goals from just 37 starts for the London club as they finished 20th in the Championship.

Initially regarded as a back-up for leading marksman Leigh Griffiths, the latter’s hamstring injury last month provided him with an opportunity he has well and truly grasped.

Dembele became the first Celt for 50 years to notch a hat-trick against Rangers in the league during the 5-1 rout of their derby rivals at Parkhead on 10 September and he took his total for the campaign to 12 from 11 starts by scoring twice against Manchester City in Wednesday’s Champions League tie.

Given his poise, assurance and formidable physique, it is easy to forget that the striker is still at the apprentice stage of his career but he already believes he belongs in the European theatre.

“Big games make big players,” he said. “When you play in the big games you have to produce your best and I hope I did that. My second goal [an acrobatic bicycle kick] was a good one but, at the end of the day, the ball ended up in the back of the net and that’s the most important thing. I don’t care if it’s an overhead kick or a tap-in. They are all good goals.

“As a striker a goal is a goal; I’ll take any goal, whether it’s against Kilmarnock or Manchester City. You always want to score goals so I was happy to get two. When I first came to Celtic one of my targets was to get the club back in the Champions League. This is where we belong.

“On Wednesday I scored two goals and showed what I am all about. Hopefully, I can benefit from this and keep learning.

“We were happy to get a result against a team which had been doing so well this season. We showed great desire and mental strength. It was a really positive night.

“I think we deserved more from the game but we also showed great resilience at the end.”

MOUSSA DEMBELE “I think we deserved more from the game but we showed great resilience”