Celtic are back to winning ways.
Thursday’s fixture against Sturm Graz felt like a must-win for Brendan Rodgers’ side in their Europa League campaign.
It didn’t get off to an ideal start – when Tomi Horvat opened the scoring with a stunning hit, the Celtic Park crowd was fearing the worst.
But in the end, the Hoops created enough chances to win three games. The two goals came in rapid succession, courtesy of Liam Scales and Benjamin Nygren.
The former has been touted as one of Celtic’s best performers this season – and manager Rodgers joined in on the praise after the match.
Brendan Rodgers on Celtic’s Liam Scales vs Sturm Graz
It was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the man for the Hoops when Scales opened the scoring.
The Ireland defender opened up his left foot at the perfect time when Colby Donovan helped the ball onto him.
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Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images
But his performances in general were singled out by his manager after the match.
Scales was brought to Celtic Park under Ange Postecoglou, and after Rodgers’ arrival, his Celtic career was seen as over after a loan move to Aberdeen.
But Rodgers put him in the starting XI, and since then, he’s barely been out of it.
Speaking after the match, Rodgers said: “He’s been my most consistent player in all my time here. He’s been absolutely fantastic. He’s been a real robust stalwart for the team; you see how strong he was tonight.
“He can score goals, and I said before that we need everyone to be contributing to goals, but the goal comes from us playing at the tempo.
“We get the ball in, we get it going quickly, and then he makes the finish look a lot easier than it was. I thought he was one of our real outstanding players tonight.”
A huge statement indeed from the Parkhead boss.
Liam Scales’ numbers at Celtic
Scales has gone from being an outcast at Celtic to making over 100 appearances. He was rewarded with a long-term contract after his breakthrough season in 2024.
His goal on Thursday was his eighth in Hoops – and he has picked up six medals across four seasons at Paradise.
Almost all of his Celtic appearances have come alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers – Auston Trusty has been unable to displace him despite being brought in for a huge price.
And with Scales now a full international for his country, the 27-year-old owes a lot of it to Rodgers.