Hat- trick hero Elyounoussi answers call to rescue Lennon
Criticised forward steps up to the plate at Fir Park to relieve pressure
IN a week where Mohamed Elyounoussi has taken heat for looking at his mobile phone during Celtic’s abject defeat to Sparta Prague, there was a certain irony that it was he who answered the call to relieve the pressure on his manager Neil Lennon at Fir Park.
The Norwegian bagged two first- half goals from a combined distance of around four yards, but while some of his recent strikes may have caught the eye a little more, the importance of his goals here for both his team and his manager can hardly be overstated.
That value was underlined as Declan Gallagher’s goal hauled Motherwell back into the contest with a little under 20 minutes remaining, but again Elyounoussi stepped up with a bullet header just minutes later to complete his hat- trick and secure a vital three points for the champions.
The gloss to the scoreline was provided by Oliver Ntcham, who came off the bench to combine with fellow substitute Odsonne Edouard to side- foot home from close range and give an impression of the match that was perhaps a little unfair on the hosts.
It was not a flawless performance from Celtic, and there were still question marks in defence particularly, even with Kristoffer Ajer back in from the start in place of the under- fire Shane Duffy, who dropped to the bench.
Still, a deserved win and the goals will have done wonders for confidence in the Celtic ranks.
After a tumultuous few days, the visitors could have done with a nice early settler, and Motherwell duly handed it to them on a silver platter. Liam Polworth dawdled on the ball facing his own goal, and then his attempted pass succeeded only in presenting the ball directly to Ajeti, who peeled in behind on the Celtic right and hammered the ball across Aaron Chapman and off the inside of the post. The bounce favoured the visitors, and the ball crashed off the arriving Elyounoussi and into the net from a yard.
Motherwell almost hit back immediately as Polworth tried to make amends with a fine chipped ball that found Tony Watt in acres of space inside the Celtic area. His side- foot volley across goal was cut out by Ajer, who watched anxiously as the ball skiddled just the wrong side of the post from a home perspective.
Motherwell were asking for a penalty when Callum Lang went down under a Scott Brown challenge, but Andrew Dallas was unmoved, before a nice move down the right allowed Lang to feed Watt, whose shot on the turn was blocked behind by Ajer.
Just as Motherwell looked to be getting a foot- hold back in the game though, a sublime piece of attacking play gave Celtic a two- goal cushion.
Ryan Christie and Jeremie Frimpong combined well on the right, allowing the latter to feed Tom Rogic inside the area. The Australian danced towards the touchline, and with Motherwell players petrified to put a foot in, he got his head up to cut the ball back for Elyounoussi to claim his second goal with a nice little finish across the keeper.
For all that Motherwell were competing with Celtic in terms of their chance creation, what will have disappointed manager Stephen Robinson was the simplicity of the visitor’s goals. His men were not getting tight enough to their opposite numbers, and when you allow better players time and space, they punish you. There was almost a perfect example of this when Frimpong was allowed to turn all too easily on the edge of the area and given an age to size up a left- foot effort that curled just past the post.
Motherwell almost grasped a lifeline at the start of the second half as Polworth’s corner was headed down by Gallagher, but Devante Cole could not force home from close range as Diego Laxalt managed to smuggle the ball off the line not once but twice.
Cole was then lucky to only see yellow for a challenge on Frimpong that led to the rightback receiving an extended spell of treatment, but he managed to continue.
Celtic were living dangerously though, and it was no surprise when Motherwell did haul themselves back into the contest. Polworth showed what he brings to his team with a lovely free- kick delivery to Gallagher’s head, the ball flying into the far corner. Game on. Briefly, at least.
Just as Motherwell looked to
capitalise on any fragility in Celtic’s confidence, Elyounoussi settled the visitors down once more. Substitute Hatem Elhamed hung a ball up from the right, and the Norwegian arrived like a train to plant a header past Chapman.
Ntcham placed the fourth low past the Motherwell keeper from close range with five minutes to go after some fine set- up play by Elyounoussi and Edouard.
For Elyounoussi, it will be a nice change to have praise ringing in his ears for the next few days.