Matt O'Riley

His corners are still underrated, he's tried to cross in about 15 corners for us and every single one has been quality all consistently into the same area. We just lack the guy or two with enough height who attack balls from them or we'd be scoring for fun.

 

The quality of the balls he was putting in all game were giving them problems and a big improvement on what we have seen for a while. Even his ability to go for the shot in the second half where he almost caught Mcgregor out was very impressive. He is already proving to be a bit asset to have.
In fairness, Giakomakis got on the end lg a couple and forced saves from Mcgregor. He also provides a physical threat that we have not had since Dembele.

 

Watching game back and didn’t realise how good he was. The amount of passes he pulled of was insane. There was a wee one with the outside of the boot into Maeda I think, first time aswell. Another on the line to play Abada down the line after a silky couple of touches.

 

Yep he was utter class. Can't believe how seamlessly he's slotted in.

 

I have been talking about the lack of a player in our squad who can consistently deliver top quality set pieces is a major part of our lack of threat on set pieces. Based on what we are seeing from Matt O'Riley he may be part of the answer.

 

He really is so Rogic like in both his build and his touch and passing ability. Absolutely brilliant find he looks and now we have both O'Riley and Rogic to play that 10 role which is just massive as given our game load and Ange's style Rogic simply cannot do that alone.

 

The quickness of his feet for the one down the line to Abada was incredible.

 

Also his pass to abada to run on to to pass to hatate to score the 2nd ..his touch was perfect.

 

Gonna be a seriously important part of this quadruple winning season.

 

They do seem to be building up an understanding.

 

Matt O’Riley has already admitted that as soon as he had chatted with Ange Postecoglou, he knew he wanted to sign for Celtic.

The 21-year-old midfielder was one of five players that the Celtic boss brought to the club during the recent transfer window, and the former MK Dons player has had an instant impact, playing in the three most recent league wins, including Wednesday night’s memorable derby win over Rangers.

Not surprisingly, O’Riley has been delighted with how things have gone for him since he joined Celtic, and he says everyone at the club has made it very easy for him to settle in, both on and off the park.

Speaking at Lennoxtown today, O’Riley said: “I wouldn’t say I’m surprised but I’m definitely happy with how it’s going.

“Everyone’s been very welcoming in terms of players and staff. Right from the off when I came here, even just when you come in in the morning and people say hello and introduce themselves – it goes without saying that it should be a common thing but it’s not always – so that’s made it really easy for me to settle in.

'It feels like we’re a real tight unit which translates on to the pitch and I think we can build something special.'

"It’s obviously still early days so we can’t get ahead of ourselves but I do believe we have the potential to do that.”

O’Riley made his Celtic debut in a tough away game against Hearts, and helped the Hoops to a 2-1 victory. His first experience of Celtic Park came last weekend as the team beat Dundee United 1-0, and then came Wednesday night’s derby clash.

And even though he’s only been training with his team mates for a few weeks, the midfielder has immediately slotted into the way that Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side want to play.

“The style, for me, is one that I’m used to,” he explained. “Obviously things will be different here but I’m used to playing in teams that try to play football in a good way, so although it’s not been an easy transition, it’s been a transition which I’ve felt comfortable making.

'The manager makes everything very simple in terms of our roles within the team.'

"We all know exactly what we’re supposed to do and how we’re supposed to play, so in that sense he’s very good at making it very clear and concise.

“My mum and dad were both at the derby game and they got a real taste of the experience, and obviously they were buzzing just like everyone else in the stadium and they’re very proud for me to be here and playing for Celtic, so everyone’s feeling really good.”

 

Genuinely think he'll be an absolute star in Ange's teams. He's added a bit of class, and steel, already and he's only going to get better.

 

Something that is obvious to me is there a certain character that Ange likes in his players.

O’Riley shows that. Just a normal bloke, hard working and appreciates the opportunity he’s got. Just a good guy, they all seem like that.

 

The MK Dons fans reckon hes their best player since Deli Ali and fully expect us to make an absolute killing on him in a couple years when he goes to the Prem.

 

He just has his head screwed on. It's so refreshing.