Motherwell 1-2 Celtic: Matt O’Riley’s winner moves Scottish Premiership leaders further clear

Matt O’Riley scored a 97th-minute winner in the most dramatic of Scottish Premiership finales to give Celtic victory over a Motherwell side who thought they had salvaged a late point.

Rather than securing the win, though, Palma’s opener ended up setting off a sequence of chaos.

Motherwell equalised after 95 minutes when Blair Spittal gathered inside the box, shuffled the ball onto his right foot and drilled a shot right into the corner to send the home crowd wild.

Those celebrations were cut short, though, when Celtic broke forward and O’Riley arrived at the back post to net an incredible winner for the visitors and their jubilant supporters.

• Have your say on Motherwell’s display
• What did you make of Celtic’s performance?

The late blow was cruel on Stuart Kettlewell’s Motherwell, who put so much into the game but were increasingly forced back until they ultimately paid the price.

The visitors dominated possession throughout but it was Harry Paton who had the best chance of the opening half when quick thinking from a free-kick released him, only for the deputising Scott Bain to save with a foot.

The game opened up after half-time and Lennon Miller thought he had bundled home the opener for the home side after Bevis Mugabi rose with Bain, but a VAR check concluded the defender had strayed offside.

Celtic continued to probe a well-drilled defence and looked certain to score when Greg Taylor fed Daizen Maeda, but he got it all wrong and tamely shot over the bar.

They nearly paid dearly when Spittal drilled one low towards the far post but Bain, in for the suspended Joe Hart, strained out a leg to block the ball to safety.

The visitors increasingly pushed forward and eventually got their reward in what was an utterly compelling final few minutes.

Motherwell will feel they more than merited something, after failing to take any points from their two previous impressive performances. For Celtic, this was a quite incredible outcome. Brendan Rodgers’ men never give in and were rewarded for that.

Player of the match – Matt O’Riley (Celtic)

Pain for Motherwell as resilient Celtic deliver again – analysis

Where do you start? What an incredible finale and outcome for the champions. Just when you thought they would drop points they responded. And again, after conceding that injury-time leveller.

Talk about resilience and determination. It’s no fluke either. They simply never settled for anything other than the points and once again found a way with seconds to spare.

Some questioned the decision to replace the subdued Kyogo Furuhashi but ultimately Celtic delivered another win at another challenging environment. It may be one they look back on as a key moment.

For Motherwell, this script feels familiar. Once again, they performed admirably. Once again, they leave with nothing. It must feel so painful, particularly given how late they equalised after just falling behind.

So many positives for Stuart Kettlewell, but it may take a little time to get over the nature of this defeat.

What the managers said

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: “A fantastic victory for the players. I said to them after the game that this club’s history is built on going to the end and scoring late goals.

“I thought we were the dominant team. Motherwell did well in terms of organisation and we just needed to show a wee bit more quality around the box.

“We didn’t panic, we just waited for that moment, and Matt continues doing what he’s been doing. A really good day for us. It’s fantastic for the supporters – they were patient and kept driving us forward in the second half.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell: “Our team really took part in the game against high-level opposition. They executed so much of what we asked them to do and we carried a real threat in the game.

“I can’t articulate the gulf in the size of the football clubs but I don’t think you saw that on the pitch. The fashion of play has been top level, so we have to take that and use it as motivation.

“We tried to tweak our shape after our goal, and we should have been more compact at the back post. Those are the fine margins that can ultimately cost you points and it has done again today.”

What’s next?

Motherwell travel to Livingston on league business on Saturday (15:00 BST) while Celtic return to Champions League action as they host Lazio on Wednesday (20:00 BST).