Celtic confirmed their place in the last four of the League Cup on Sunday afternoon with a comfortable 4-0 win over Partick Thistle away from home.
The Hoops strolled to a victory that was never in any serious doubt throughout the 90 minutes, thanks to goals from Hyun-jun Yang, Liam Scales, Sebastian Tounekti, and Luke McCowan.
After a promising debut against Kilmarnock last time out, creating four chances (per Sofascore), Tounekti caught the eye once again with his performance on the left flank.
Why Sebastian Tounekti is already a star player for Celtic
Brendan Rodgers handed the Tunisia international another start after his bow in the Scottish Premiership last weekend, and was rewarded with an impressive display.
Tounekti was a constant threat down the left side, particularly in the first half, and Premier Sports pundit Michael Stewart described him as the “danger man” for Celtic, because he “unsettles” defenders.
He was heavily involved in the opening goal for the Hoops with his excellent pass in behind for Benjamin Nygren to cross to the far post for Yang, as shown in the clip below.
The left-sided attacker then showed his quality in front of goal by scoring after a one-two with Kelechi Iheanacho, which is why the forward should be considered a star player for the team already, as he can create, he can dribble, and he can score goals.
Tounekti was far from the only impressive performer on the park for the Scottish giants, though, as Iheanacho showed that he is a player for the fans to be excited about.
Why Celtic fans should be excited about Kelechi Iheanacho
After the disappointment of deadline day, it would be hard to blame any supporter for not being too excited by the arrival of the Nigeria international on a free transfer after Sevilla were willing to terminate his contract.
The left-footed striker only scored four goals in 26 appearances in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, for Middlesbrough and Sevilla combined, which did little to help the lack of excitement around his signing.
However, Iheanacho’s first two performances have shown that he is a player who the supporters should be excited about, after scoring a 96th-minute penalty against Kilmarnock on his debut last weekend.
Minutes
20
Touches
9
Shots
3
Goals
1
Passes completed
3/5
Duels won
0/2
The former Manchester City striker was rewarded with his first start for the club for this clash with Partick Thistle and delivered an impressive centre-forward showing.
Premier Sports commentator Rory Hamilton claimed that Iheanacho and Tounekti are players “to be excited about” moving forward this season, and both players combined for the third goal in the match for Celtic.
As you can see in the clip above, the Celtic striker did brilliantly to flick the ball round the corner to tee the winger up to score, showing great awareness, creativity, and technical ability.
That was not a one-off for Iheanacho in the match. He consistently held the ball up and produced impressive flicks to find teammates making advances towards the opposition’s box.
The 28-year-old star, who was handed a 7/10 player rating by GlasgowWorld, was a fantastic facilitator for his teammates with the creativity and reliability in his hold-up play, against Partick Thistle defenders who wanted to get tight and physical with him.
Iheanacho was as good as Tounekti, as both players showed that they were too good for the opposition to deal with, and supporters must now be excited about what the forward can produce over the course of an entire season if he can stay fit.
Hopefully, Rodgers will select both players in the starting line-up when Celtic kick off their Europa League campaign against Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday night.