‘You won’t get that many chances in Europe’ - Matt O’Riley demands Celtic keep up ruthless scoring streak after Hearts win

Matt O’Riley has challenged his Celtic team mates to carry their ruthless form in front of goal into European competition after starring in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle.

The midfielder and current Scottish Premiership - who has averaged a goal every two games so far this season - took his tally for the campaign to six goals in the capital with a sensational early strike.

The Hoops maintained their unbeaten start to the league season with further goals from Japanese trio Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Tomoki Iwata in a one-sided contest against the Jambos.

But O’Riley now wants to see the Scottish champions find their shooting boots in the Champions League ahead of their latest group stage match against La Liga side Atletico Madrid next week.

Reflecting on the result and performance, he told Sky Sports: “It was tough, but to score four goals is very impressive at a place like this. We took our chances when they came and I think we probably could’ve got a few more if we were a little bit more ruthless.

“But if you come away and win 4-1 at a place like this then it’s a good performance. We probably won’t get that many chances in Europe, so it’s about being ruthless. For example, in the Lazio game we had a chance early on and took it but then we created a few more that we didn’t take. We just need to be clinical and also lock up the back door as well.”

Asked if he had been doing anything differently to improve his numbers this term, O’Riley responded: “I’m just getting lucky, especially with my assist today. I had a shot and have skimmed it to Kyogo, so that’s a bit of luck. I think when you’re in that open frame of mind, things kind of do fall to you. I’ve probably just been getting into the box more this season and naturally have been scoring more goals.”