Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley was left impressed with aspects of Hoops frontman Kyogo Furuhashi’s performance after playing alongside him for the first time yesterday afternoon.

With Kyogo having been out with injury since Boxing Day, Saturday provided a first chance for January signing Matt O’Riley to see Kyogo in action for the first time as both players came off the bench.

Speaking after adding two further goals to his Hoops tally in the 7-0 win, O’Riley was left amazed by what he had seen in the short cameo by the Celtic star, praising his ‘top class’ attributes.

“I’ve only trained with Kyogo a couple of times, and I could see he’s a really top player. I’d heard from everyone else how good he was, but you really notice it when you’re with him every day,” he said, as quoted by Sun Sport.

“The sharpness of his movement is not something I’ve seen before. He always knows where to be. There were a couple of times when I tried to thread the ball through to him, and his positioning was top class.

“Giorgos Giakoumakis has been top class, and that just shows the depth of squad we have.”

After joining the club in the summer, Kyogo had a massive impact on the side during the first half of the campaign.

That early success left some supporters extremely concerned when he was ruled out for such a long period of time, picking up an injury at the back end of last year.

However, Ange Postecoglou’s side have been almost faultless without Kyogo, continuing their fine run of form, and the likes of Giakoumakis stepping up to play a massive part.

The likes of O’Riley will now likely be looking forward to the final few games of the season, with the boost of having Kyogo back amongst selection, handing Postecoglou another quality attacking option.

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