Wilfried Nancy finally ended a frustrating streak of defeats as Celtic triumphed 3-1 over Aberdeen at Parkhead, a result that brought a long-awaited sigh of relief to the French manager. After a rocky start to his tenure with losses to Hearts, Roma, St Mirren, and Dundee United, Nancy’s men showcased both perseverance and tactical intelligence in front of their home crowd.
The match swung in Celtic’s favour just before half-time. Benjamin Nygren opened the scoring in the 39th minute, giving the Hoops a lead that was soon reinforced when Aberdeen’s young defender Dylan Lobban received a straight red card for a foul on Daizen Maeda. Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov was left to salvage pride, making several key saves and hitting the woodwork, which prevented the scoreline from becoming more humiliating.
Celtic seemed in control, but Aberdeen fought back through substitute Kenan Bilalovic, who equalised in the 74th minute. The Hoops responded with late strikes from Keiran Tierney and James Forrest, moving them within striking distance of league leaders Hearts, while maintaining a game in hand.
Nancy, reflecting on the win, said: “I don’t believe in luck, but since I’ve been here, I haven’t had it. We’ve been unlucky in previous games with missed penalties and goals off the post, but the most important thing is the resilience of my players. They didn’t let adversity affect their mindset.”
He praised his squad’s relentless attacking approach, describing it as “waves upon waves of pressure” that eventually forced Aberdeen into mistakes. Nancy, who previously managed Columbus Crew, explained that he could have postponed his arrival at Celtic but chose to start earlier to better evaluate the squad before the January transfer window.
Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin acknowledged the superiority of Celtic in the first half but remained proud of his players’ efforts. “We were on the back foot for much of the game, and the red card didn’t help. It’s a fair result,” he said.
The victory provides a significant boost for Nancy, showing that Celtic can play with both resilience and attacking flair. It also sends a clear message to the Premiership contenders that the Hoops are not ready to concede ground easily, signalling a potential shift in momentum as the season progresses.