El Bakhtaoui recalls wonder strike but wants a winner this time

Faissal El Bakhtaoui will never forget being congratulated by Brendan Rodgers the last time he hit a wonder strike against Celtic, and hopes that tomorrow night he can find a winner against the Parkhead club.

The striker hit a stunning goal in March as Dundee lost 2-1 to Rodgers’ side in the Premiership at Dens Park, which prompted the Parkhead boss to salute his effort afterwards.

“I scored against Celtic at home last season,” said El Bakhtaoui ahead of the Betfred Cup quarter-final at Dens. “That was memorable. It was a good goal. I was happy with it.

“Brendan Rodgers congratulated me on it after the game. I was very happy that the manager of Celtic spoke to me to say this. This time, it would be nice to score the winner!”

Dundee are fresh from Saturday’s 3-2 win over St Johnstone as they chalked up their first league win of the season. El Bakhtaoui, pictured, believes the Taysiders were well worth their win and reckons it’s given them the perfect lift going into tomorrow’s last-eight tie against the holders.

He said: “It’s a relief to get our first win. We had lost 4-1 the week before at Rangers but we have played well against every team since the start of the season, making chances, but it just wasn’t happening for us.

“This was a good day for us to get three points. It’s a good confidence-booster going into such a big game against Celtic at home. They are the best team in Scotland so we will be up against really good players.

“We have to concentrate and be focused and do our best.” Frenchman El Bakhtaoui, 24, attended Celtic’s 5-0 Champions League thrashing by PSG last midweek as he ran the rule over the hosts. And he hopes Neil Mccann’s Dundee can also exploit any weaknesses in last season’s treble winners.

El Bakhtaoui said: “I watched the PSG game. I actually went there because I got tickets from Scott Allan. I didn’t go with Scott but I went with my friend to the game.

“Of course, PSG are a good team as well so we need to be prepared. PSG gave a really good performance and have some great players.

“It just didn’t happen for Celtic on the night but Wednesday will be tough for us – no doubt about that.”