Celtic signed Matt O’Riley from MK Dons in January 2022. The 21-year-old signed a four-and-a-half-year deal with the Scottish Premiership side. Since joining the club, the youngster has featured in every league game and has netted four goals along with three assists. O’Riley has been highly rated and has delivered for Celtic in this short spell. These are some of the stats that highlight why he is highly rated.
Celtic play in a 4-3-3 formation, with Matt O’Riley featuring in the midfield. He has started on the right side for the Scottish Premiership leaders. The heat map shows that his average position is also towards the right side. He has made 16 appearances for the Scottish club, and six were off the bench. The player has taken 55 touches inside the opposition’s penalty box, mostly by coming in from the wider sides.
Matt O’Riley has impressed everyone with his passing on the pitch. The above viz shows all the successful passes attempted by him this season. We can observe that most of his passing was done towards the right side. He has delivered a few passes into the opposition’s penalty box, and those passes have created the highest threat rate. Some of his passes have been delivered right in front of the goal, and the player carries an xA rate of 3.24. His passes include 36 crosses, 22 smart passes and 21 through passes.
The player has attempted most of his passes towards Jota. He has attempted 66 passes towards him and has created a threat rate of 1.12. The highest threat is created by 21 passes attempted towards centre-back Carl Starfelt.
The English football player has the ability to score goals. He has already scored four goals, three from inside the opposition’s penalty box. Overall, the player has attempted 25 shots, 16 from inside the opposition’s penalty box. O’Riley has managed to hit the target 11 times. From the above map, we can observe that the player has the ability to take shots from outside the box and has even scored a goal. The overall xG rate of the player has been 2.04.
O’Riley has also contributed to the defensive side of the pitch. He has made 38 interceptions, and 17 were made inside the opposition’s half. Of these 38 interceptions, 17 were made while contesting duels, 13 were normal interceptions, three were made when the opposition player was on the ball, and he intercepted four passes made by the opposition players.
The player has also contested a few duels on both sides of the pitch. He has contested 12 duels inside the opposition’s penalty box, and these include six aerial duels, four defensive duels, and two loose ball duels. Other than this, O’Riley has made 67 recoveries this season, and 39 were made inside the opposition’s half.
Matt O’Riley has been one of the best signings in the January transfer window. He has made some important contributions that have helped his side win another Scottish Premiership title. The player has a bright future ahead of him and will look to carry this form into the next season.
