93% passing: Rodgers' "underrated" Celtic star just had his O'Riley moment

Celtic‘s European campaign is over, cut short in the most heartbreaking fashion imaginable.

Having lost the first leg of their Champions League knockout phase tie 2-1 when Bayern Munich visited Parkhead, few gave Brendan Rodgers‘ side a prayer in Bavaria on Tuesday.

However, after actually squandering four excellent first half opportunities, Nicolas Kühn’s cool finish mid-way through the second 45 had the Bhoys on course to cause an almighty upset.

However, just as everyone inside the Allianz Arena was preparing for extra time, the Bundesliga leaders snatched victory; Kasper Schmeichel produced yet another remarkable save, but Cameron Carter-Vickers‘ subsequent clearance found its way into the net via Alphonso Davies.

So, devastation for those bedecked in hoops, but they can certainly take heart from two outstanding performances against the six-times champions of Europe, with one member of the side, in particular, catching the eye, being compared to a Celtic great of the very recent past.

Matt O’Riley’s impact at Celtic

When Matt O’Riley arrived at Celtic, joining from Milton Keynes for a reported £1.5m in January 2022, he was a complete unknown, having made just five appearances in Fulham’s first team, before appearing 54 times at EFL League One level for MK.

History could have panned out so differently, because Ange Postecoglou‘s first choice was actually Australian international midfielder Riley McGree, who chose to go to Middlesbrough instead, with Boro cheekily posting ‘some people prefer red to green, but hey ho’, a caption that has gone down in Celtic folklore.

Fair to say, supporters are pleased events panned out the way they did, given that, as Stefan Bienkowski of Transfermarkt puts it, O’Riley became ‘unquestionably the best player in Scotland’.

During his time in Glasgow, the Danish international scored 27 goals and provided 35 assists in 124 matches, that’s a goal involvement every 146 minutes, winning six major trophies, before being named Celtic Player of the Year and Celtic Players’ Player of the Year last season.

O’Riley was then sold to Brighton & Hove Albion for £25m in August, a joint-club-record sale, having more than made his mark in just two and a half seasons in Glasgow’s East End.

One of his most eye-catching performances came as the Celts made their Champions League return following a five-year exile, hosting reigning champions Real Madrid no less.

O’Riley – who “did not look out of place at all against Madrid”, according to Guillem Balague – had 43 touches, completing 77% of his passes and creating two chances on a night where, as Jonathan Liew of the Guardian put it, Celtic outplayed Los Blancos for long periods.

That night, as with Tuesday, ultimately ended in disappointment against a European juggernaut, but did a current Celtic midfielder put in an equally outstanding performance that proves he is worth his large transfer fee?

Celtic star just had his O’Riley moment

As O’Riley’s replacement in the summer, Celtic broke their club-record transfer fee to sign midfielder Arne Engels from Augsburg for a reported £11m on deadline day.

Earlier this season, Joe Donnelly of the Glasgow Times described Engels’ start to life in green and white as ‘mercurial’, adding that due to the price tag, ‘an extra layer of expectation rests on the midfielder’s shoulders’.

However, in more recent weeks, Graeme McGarry of the Herald believes the Belgian had a ‘coming of age’ performance against Bayern Munich, with Robbie Hanratty of the National adding that Engels’ ‘hard work is paying off’, while former Motherwell and Scotland forward James McFadden labelled him “a class act”.

Still only 21 years old, his recent brace against Dundee took his tally to nine goals and ten assists for the season, with Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout believing he is still “underrated”, adding he “could easily play for a strong club in the top 5 league”.

In Munich on Tuesday night, Engels completed 93% of his passes, created two chances and won two duels, proving his worth in a Celtic jersey. As writer Ryan McGinlay noted – in a similar manner to the aforementioned Balague – the one-time Club Brugge man “looks at home at this level“.

He may then have just enjoyed his O’Riley moment, but how does Engels’ first season as a whole compare to the current Brighton star?

To give a larger and more comparable sample size, O’Riley’s first full season was chosen for comparison.

As the table shows, O’Riley’s statistics are more impressive across the board, aside from the fact Engels has scored nine goals, while acknowledging that seven of these have come from the penalty spot.

Nevertheless, it’s worth remembering that it took the Dane a season and a half before he truly exploded onto the scene, and the Belgian is showing encouraging signs that he will repay that £11m price tag.

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