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Odsonne Edouard scores a double as the league leaders’ second-half onslaught secures victory over Motherwell.

“If you don’t take your chances, you get punished. But we’ll continue to try and improve.”

Stephen Robinson reacts to Motherwell’s loss to Celtic.

A second half onslaught from Celtic saw Motherwell crash to their heaviest defeat of the season.

However, like the first encounter in August the scoreline didn’t reflect fairly on ‘Well’s contribution to an exciting game.

The Fir Park men were made to pay for Celtic’s clinical finishing in front of goal as a double from Odsonne Edouard at either end of the 90 minutes, and a second half double from Leigh Griffiths and Callum McGregor fully punished the home side.

Stephen Robinson will be envious of Celtic’s killer instinct as his side failed to convert the bulk of chances they created especially in the first half.

In the end, though, despite a vastly improved performance from the game at Livingston, and a lot of the ball in and around the visitor’s penalty area, ‘Well for the third consecutive league game drew a blank in front of goal.

After Saturday’s poor showing at Livingston, Stephen Robinson could have made any number of changes to his starting team.

However, the ‘Well boss made only two – with Liam Grimshaw swapping places with Richard Tait and Rolando Aarons making his debut on the right side of Christopher Long.

The Newcastle United loanee appeared confident in the early stages and after six minutes he chested down Liam Polworth’s long pass before driving the ball low, forcing Fraser Forster to make a comfortable save.

A minute later, Aarons was again involved at the edge of the Celtic box, setting up for Long for a shot at goal. When the ball was deflected it fell for Jermaine Hylton 12 yards from goal but he pulled his drive wide of target.

It was a positive start for the home side but in their first threat on the home goal two minutes later the Parkhead side were ruthless.

Callum McGregor was given too much freedom to advance towards the Fir Park box before he played the ball to Edouard. After his first attempt was blocked the French striker calmly steered his second effort beyond Mark Gillespie to put the league leaders ahead.

Motherwell immediately responded as Long nipped inside Kristoffer Ajer before slipping the ball back to Allan Campbell but from 15 yards he screwed his shot across Fraser’s goal and beyond the ‘keeper’s right hand post.

The Steelmen looked undaunted by the loss of the early goal and confident in possession they pushed forward in numbers.

Midway through the half Polworth carried the ball deep into the Celtic half but with options on either side the midfielder elected to shoot from 25 yards only to watch his effort drift well wide of goal.

The best chance came ‘Well’s way in 28th minute. Jake Carroll’s incisive pass sent Long scurrying to the byeline. His cut back had Campbell and Aarons waiting at the edge of the six yard area but the latter’s high boot ended the goal threat.

Then just beyond the half hour mark the home side carved out another opening. Good build up on the left ended with ball at Hylton’s feet and his quick turn and low drive forced Forster to dive low to his right to smother the shot.

Two minutes from the interval only Forster’s superb reactions denied ‘Well an equaliser their first half performance merited. Hylton’s tricky footwork in the box ended with the ball being deflected to the unmarked Aarons and he looked to have powered his angle drive into the net until the Celtic ‘keeper’s arm deflected the ball over the bar.

Motherwell were still in a positive frame of mind at the start of the second half – even leaving Hylton and Aarons upfield as they defended a Celtic free kick.

Five minutes after the restart, though, the Steelmen fell two behind to another simple goal.

McGregor’s long run was matched by Liam Donnelly but from the byeline the Celtic midfielder found space to pick out the unmarked Griffiths. Eight yards from the middle of the goal the Scotland striker took a touch before calmly poking the ball into the corner of the net to make it 2-0.

After an impressive but tiring 57 minutes Aarons made way for Sherwin Seedorf. And within a minute Hylton had set him up for this first touch but his trundler from 18 yards was easily smothered by Forster.

At the other end Celtic came closer to a third goal when Edouard’s cross picked out Griffith’s but his header rebounded from the face of the crossbar.
Gillespie was then asked to make his first real saves of the game. Firstly, firmly holding onto Greg Taylor’s powerful drive then bravely diving at Edouard’s feet to dispossess the striker.

With 20 minutes remaining and desperately needing a goal to set up a stirring finish Robinson sent on attack minded Ross MacIver and Christy Manzinga.

But before they could make any impact Neil Lennon’s men had fired in a third goal to wrap up the points.

James Forrest made ground on the right before finding McGregor just inside the box and his stunning half volley high into the net gave Gillespie no chance.

Ten minutes from time Edouard brilliantly curled a free kick around the defensive wall and past a helpless Gillespie to make it 4-0.

Christopher Long has been named as the Tullibardine Motherwell FC player of the month for January.

The striker netted three of Motherwell’s four goals across three matches in the month, netting a hat-trick against Dundee in the William Hill Scottish Cup.

He was the runaway leader in our poll, mainly for his goalscoring exploits to put the Steelmen into the fifth round of the competition.

Stephen Robinson focused on recovering from the weekend loss to Livingston and taking on the challenge of Celtic straight after on Wednesday night.

Here’s what he said to the broadcast media on Tuesday morning.

On losing to Livingston

“We had 10 people off their game. It was as simple as that. Sometimes you get two or three and you can get away with it.

“We almost got away with it. We hit the post in the last minute. But, let’s be honest, we didn’t deserve anything out of the game.

“It was a performance that was very, very rare for us in how they’ve been all season. So we’ll put it in the bin.

“You can’t dwell on things like that too long and we move on to another challenge on Wednesday night.

“You can’t feel sorry for yourself. The game comes quick and fast. The next game, the next opportunity. And that’s how you have to see it.

“It’s another opportunity to put Saturday to bed, play against arguably the best team in the country, and you have to be at your top levels.”

On facing Celtic

“It’s a good challenge. We’ve got absolutely nothing to lose. We’ll go in with our approach that we always do at home where we try and take the game to Celtic.

“There’ll be periods of the game where they’ll have possession of the ball. They’re a good side, a very good side, and we have to make sure when we land on it, we are brave on it and we take the game to them as well.

“We have nothing to lose. We are a good side. We have to believe that Saturday was a blip and credit to Livingston as well. They were very, very good.

“Listen, no one’s invincible. They’re a very good side and we’ve total respect for them. But not fear.

“We know that on our day, we can give Celtic a game. We have to go and try and take the game to them.

“I think teams enjoy playing against us because we don’t sit in. We do try and go and press and we do try and take our game to them, especially at home.

“So it will be an open game. I think that’s how we have to play. We can’t play any other way. If we play to our strengths, then there’s no reason why we can’t get a result.”

Celtic come to Fir Park for the second time in 2019/20 in a Ladbrokes Premiership encounter on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at our opponents.

The story so far

Top of the league and going for nine-in-a-row, Celtic have had their toughest title challenge in years from a resurgent Rangers side.

After defeat at home to their rivals at the end of 2019, the fight looked well and truly on. But respective form in 2020 leaves Celtic seven points ahead in the race, albeit with a game in hand.

Celtic, like their rivals, are also still in Europe and will soon take on FC Copenhagen in the last 32 of the UEFA Europa League.

Form guide

Neil Lennon’s side have won all five of their competitive games in 2020, having ended the previous year with a defeat to Rangers in the derby.

Partick Thistle, Kilmarnock, Ross County, St Johnstone and Hamilton Academical have all been overcome, with a combined scoreline of 15-3.

Three to watch

Christopher Jullien

Just when it looked as if Celtic were about to drop two crucial points and the chance to put some daylight between themselves and Rangers at the top of the table, it was centre-back Christopher Jullien who grabbed the goal to put the Hoops back on track.

It wasn’t the first time this season that the Frenchman has got on the scoresheet when it mattered the most. He scored the only goal of the game in the Betfred Cup final to help Neil Lennon’s men to yet another domestic honour.

Very capable on either side of the central defence, Jullien’s strengths lie in his excellent range of passing, his abilities to read the game and superb recovery pace. His performances in his first six months in the Hoops have led to rave reviews and speculation he may follow the likes of Virgil Van Dijk in netting the club a huge transfer fee when the time comes for him to move on.

Leigh Griffiths

Having missed a large part of 2019 due to personal reasons, Leigh Griffiths looks determined to make a big impact in 2020.

The Scotland striker hadn’t been on the scoresheet since netting against Motherwell in August before he ended his barren spell when he notched the opener in the 2-1 victory against Partick Thistle in the Scottish Cup in Celtic’s first competitive fixture of the new year.

Further goals against Kilmarnock and St Johnstone have followed, providing hope for not only Celtic fans but followers of the Scottish national side that one of the most natural goal scorers in the country is on his way back to his very best.

Odsonne Edouard

In the same game that Christopher Jullien netted his second goal of the season for Celtic, Odsonne Edouard took his tally to 22 with a classy double in the 4-1 victory.

Incredibly the French striker also has 15 assists during this campaign and he demonstrated the unselfish side of his game when he cut the ball back for James Forrest to slam home the fourth Celtic goal, despite being in a strong position to complete his hat-trick.

The 22-year-old has scored four times in his last his last three appearances against Motherwell and the ‘Well defence will need to be at its very best to handle a player that continually demonstrates a killer instinct in front of goal.

Buy in advance

Tickets are available online now or from the Fir Park ticket office. There will be no cash gates on the day.

The cheaper price is for our John Hunter Stand. Celtic fans should contact their club direct for tickets.

Fans who require ambulant or wheelchair access should contact Andy Sim on 07428 225254 or email tickets@mfcdsa.com.

Can’t make it? Watch or listen live

We’ve live video of the match available to viewers outside of the UK and Ireland for just £12 a month. Kick off is at 7.45pm GMT.

To subscribe and get all Motherwell home matches – and the majority of away games – head to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk now and sign up.

If you’re in the UK or Ireland and can’t make it, don’t worry. We’ve also got live audio commentary of the match for just £5.99 a month.

Adam Livingstone will spend the second half of the season on loan with Clyde.

The defender was with Greenock Morton earlier in the campaign, making five appearances with the Championship side.

The 21-year-old youth academy product will now link up with the League One club, as they look to make a late push towards the play-offs.

Tickets are available to buy online for Wednesday night’s Ladbrokes Premiership clash with Celtic.

Supporters can buy online now, or visit the ticket office between 9am and 5pm on Tuesday, and 9am and kick-off at 7.45pm on Wednesday.

To buy online, you must have been registered on our ticket database before 20 January. If you weren’t, please visit the ticket office or call 01698 333333.

Celtic fans should contact their club direct for ticket information.

There will be no cash gates on the day.

The cheaper price is for our John Hunter Stand. Celtic fans should contact their club direct for tickets.

Fans who require ambulant or wheelchair access should contact Andy Sim on 07428 225254 or email tickets@mfcdsa.com.

There’s a live stream and live audio available from Motherwell v Celtic on Wednesday night.

We’ve live video of the match available to viewers outside of the UK and Ireland for just £12 a month. Kick off is at 7.45pm GMT.

To subscribe and get all Motherwell home matches – and the majority of away games – head to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk now and sign up.

If you’re in the UK or Ireland and can’t make it, don’t worry. We’ve also got live audio commentary of the match for just £5.99 a month.

Head to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk to sign up. Just choose the UK/Ireland commentary option.

2019/20 Motherwell streaming service matches

Motherwell are back in action on Wednesday at home to Celtic in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Kick-off at Fir Park is at 7.45pm.

Tale of the tape

Third host first in the league in the midweek fixture.

Motherwell fell to a 1-0 loss at Livingston at the weekend, in what was a rare lacklustre performance from Stephen Robinson’s side.

Prior to that, the Steelmen had gone three unbeaten with wins at Dundee and Aberdeen, and a home draw with Hibernian.

Celtic were a goal down to Hamilton on Sunday – and sitting at 1-1 against 10 men late on – before blowing away their opponents to win 4-1.

Neil Lennon’s team are seven points clear of Rangers in the league, having played a game more, and have won all five of their last competitive fixtures.

Head to head

Celtic have won all of the last four encounters between the pair, but three have been in the east end of Glasgow.

At Fir Park, August’s 5-2 defeat followed three successive home draws for Motherwell against the champions.

Buy in advance

Tickets are available online now or from the Fir Park ticket office. There will be no cash gates on the day.

The cheaper price is for our John Hunter Stand. Celtic fans should contact their club direct for tickets.

Fans who require ambulant or wheelchair access should contact Andy Sim on 07428 225254 or email tickets@mfcdsa.com.

Can’t make it? Watch or listen live

We’ve live video of the match available to viewers outside of the UK and Ireland for just £12 a month. Kick off is at 7.45pm GMT.

To subscribe and get all Motherwell home matches – and the majority of away games – head to tv.motherwellfc.co.uk now and sign up.

If you’re in the UK or Ireland and can’t make it, don’t worry. We’ve also got live audio commentary of the match for just £5.99 a month.

Join us before the match

The Cooper Bar is open from 5pm for food and drink ahead of Motherwell v Celtic.

Our special this week is a breaded chicken baguette in an arrabbiata sauce. With a soft drink included, our deal costs £4.