š° Martin OāNeillās Celts turn up the heat
Scottish Premiership
Saturday, January 10, 2026
Celtic Park, Glasgow
CELTICā¦4
(Yang 27, Engels 32, Nygren 63, Maeda 69)
DUNDEE UNITEDā¦0
Martin OāNeill and his backroom Bhoys returned to not only deliver a 4-0 win over Dundee United, but a magnificent performance to suit as Celtic got back to claiming three points with intent.
First-half goals from Hyunjun Yang and Arne Engels provided the cheers and enjoyment missing from recent games, and the second half was just as enthralling for the crowd in the freezing January cold as further goals from Benjamin Nygren and Daizen Maeda proved to hot for the Tayside team.
The action began with the Celts pressing as usual, stringing passes around the park and forcing United well inside the final third, and balls from Kieran Tierney and Sebastian Tounekti in particular causing anxiety around the visitorsā six-yard box Both were involved moments later with Tounekti buzzing on the left then a Tierney shot deflected for the first corner of the match and an Auston Trusty header bounced just wide of the keeperās left-hand post.
The relentless pressure continued and in the 13th minute came the best chance of the game yet when a Tierney cross was met at the back by Yang and his header went just over.In the 19th minute Tierney fizzed a driving low cross into the box, and the neatest of touches from Daizen Maeda saw Dave Richards tip the ball over and the keeper also dealt with a Liam Scales header from the resultant corner. The persistence had to pay off at some point such was the stylish play of the Celts utilising both attacking flanks, and it did deliver in the 27th minute, but from a more central position when Liam Scales found Yang at the edge of the box
The Korean met the ball and fired home with an excellent right-foot shot to open the scoring, and just five minutes later the crowd were on their feet cheering again when Engels steered the ball home for number two after a sleek pass from Tierney. The chant of āMartin OāNeill, Martin OāNeillā immediately reverberated around the stadium as the Celtic support lapped up the goalsā¦and the action that created the strikes
The Celts applied more pressure as the half continued, especially in the final moments, but the United goal remained intact until the half-time whistle.
Reo Hatate fired just over the bar following ball from Tounekti two minutes after the break as the Celts upped the ante once more whenplay got underway again, and this was followed by another period of concerted play from the Hoops, pinning United back in the final third once more, and in the 53rd minute a low cross from Yang fell just behind Maeda as the third goal nearly came to fruition right in front of the target. Then, from the other flank, it was a ball from Tounekti that just eluded Maeda, and around the hour mark, the tireless Julian Arauja on making his first start for the Hoops was given a standing ovation when he was replaced by young Colby Donovan, while Hatate also made way for Benjamin Nygren.
And it didnāt take long from the Swede to make his mark as, while much of the Celtic play had United chasing shadows, the third was a bit more basic and the ball came off a defender to fall at Nygrenās feet six yards from goal, and he took his time to pick his spot before firing the ball high into the net.
The fourth went high into the net as well, rocketed there this time by Maeda who followed up on a parried Tounekti shot as the fans were on their feet once more in appreciation of the Japanese starās blast into the net. The game finished 4-0 and it would be too simple to suggest that United didnāt know what hit them, but they and everybody else know that Marttin OāNeill is back.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Araujo (Donovan 61'), Trusty, Scales, Tierney, Engels, McGregor, Hatate (Nygren 61'), Hyunjun Yang (McCowan 72'), Maeda (Kenny 72'), Tounekti (Forrest 72')
Subs: Nygren, Sinisalo, McCowan, Kenny, Paulo Bernardo, Murray, Forrest, Donovan, Ralston
Dundee Utd: Richards, Naamo (Trapanovski 60'), Sevelj (Eskesen 78'), Graham, Keresztes, Ferry, Stephenson, Sibbald, Panutche CamarƔ (Fatah 45'), Sapsford (Mƶller 79'), Stirton (Strain 60')
Subs: Strain, Iovu, Trapanovski, Eskesen, Fatah, Adams, Watters, Cleall-Harding, Mƶller