Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie had to hold back the tears at full-time of the Hoops’ Scottish League Cup victory over Aberdeen yesterday, after his winning goal secured our seventh successive domestic league trophy.
Brendan Rodgers has yet to lose a cup game since arriving at the club in 2016 and it’s his ability to massively improve players like Christie that has managed to deliver that success.
The 23-year-old was again superb throughout yesterday’s 90 minutes, with his goal on the stroke of half-time enough to sink former loan side Aberdeen.
He admitted after the game that the whole occasion was an emotional one for him and his family.
As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the Scotland international said:
It was amazing for my mum and dad to come down and see me. When the final whistle went, I looked up and managed to catch eyes with them.
I got a bit emotional myself when that happened because it has been a long road.
I’ll be honest, it was pretty overwhelming for me. It was always going to be a strange day coming up against Aberdeen after being there last season. It shows that football can work in funny ways sometimes.
Seeing my parents brought an overwhelming feeling of happiness and I was delighted for them to be able to see that.
Christie has now solidified himself as a real fan favourite and a firm fixture in Brendan Rodgers’ starting eleven. Keeping stars like Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham out of a national cup final is no mean feat.
With five goals and three assists since bursting into the team, his attacking contribution as revitalised the midfield area and given the Hoops what they were missing after the departure of Stuart Armstrong.
I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.
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