Mohamed Elyounoussi makes exciting claim after Celtic win

Mohamed Elyounoussi has made an exciting claim after scoring a hattrick that saw Celtic beat Motherwell and hopefully bring the season back on track.

Most fans were delighted to see Celtic return to winning ways. Neil Lennon looked pleased and relieved too. And Mohamed Elyounoussi deserves a lot of credit for that after scoring a hattrick in their 4-1 win away at Motherwell.

Earlier in the week the players and the manager had to face the music after the awful loss at home to Sparta Prague in the Europa League. Much of it was deserved. Mohammed Elyounoussi faced a lot of criticism as well after being caught on his phone in the stands.

It didn’t seem much of a crime but got a lot of coverage. Rightly dismissed as something to nothing and a misunderstanding, it might’ve still had an impact and increased his determination to show what he can do for the Hoops. His first hattrick for the club was the outcome.

Talking to the club’s official site Elyounoussi was delighted with his performance and goals. He certainly sent the right signals on the pitch throughout the match. His early goals helped settle Celtic into the game. His third, a great controlled header, helped ease any nerves after Motherwell got a goal back late in the game.

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He let the fans know of his desire to push on for a hattrick after missing out against Lille and to dedicate the goals to his daughter Amina, soon to be proud owner of the match ball. That also explains his hand signal of a capital A into the cameras after scoring:

"“I’m delighted, and I’m very pleased that we had a good game as well, to get the win and the three points.“I was disappointed not to get the hat-trick against Lille, but today I said to the manager, after getting the two goals, that I was going to go for the third and take the ball home. I’m obviously pleased with that and also to help the team get the three points as well.“It was a great reaction after conceding today, that’s why the third goal was so important. They’d just scored, we had to show a reaction. We also had to show a reaction from Thursday’s game and I think we showed character today and showed the best side to our game, and now it’s just up to us to keep that momentum going.“Yes, my daughter is getting the match ball, definitely. She was watching the game from home so hopefully she was proud!”"

He looked a little exasperated when interviewed by Sky Sports after the match and asked about the mobile misdemeanour. Elyounoussi signalled clearly it was behind him and he’d be letting his feet do the talking now. Presumably his head too given the third goal. If Sky irritated him, Chris Sutton’s response may have brought more of a smile.

His comments just show that he will be more eager to score going forward. And that is a great sign for Celtic as they have found it hard to find the back of the net consistently this season with Odsonne Edouard struggling for form. Hopefully, Elyounoussi can fill that void until the Frenchman finds his scoring boots once again.

Like many other players Elyounoussi is off to join up with his national teammates for the upcoming international break. Let’s hope they all return in form rather than in isolation.