Benjamin Nygren’s story at Celtic is all about goals, lots of them

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The Celtic Star

·1 March 2026

Benjamin Nygren’s story at Celtic is all about goals, lots of them

Benjamin Nygren’s story of his first season at Celtic is all about his goals and for a midfielder his record for finding the back of the net has been rather remarkable to say the least…

22.02.2026 Celtic v Hibernian, Scottish Premiership. Benjamin Nygren’s goal celebration Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

The Swedish midfielder will be one to watch for theRangers defence today as he alway appears to pop up in the right place at the right time to find the back of the net. A more complete performance from the summer signing is perhaps needed today but he mustn’t forget to stick the ball in the back of theRangers net to deliver his own present to Martin O’Neill who today celebrates his 74th birthday.

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UEFA Europa League 2025 2026, Play Offs first leg Celtic FC Glasgow vs VfB Stuttgart Celtic Park. Martin O’Neill with Iain Jamieson, Celtic Head of PR Photo JOERAN STEINSIEK

“First of all, I didn’t know that it was his birthday. “We hope to give him the best birthday gift you can have,” Nygren said as reported by mainstream media outlet TCW. We know it’s not fan media, despite the dressing, because it never got banned by Iain Jamieson (pictured above), Head of Celtic PR. At the recent meeting with the Celtic Fans Collective Brian Wilson claimed that he didn’t actually know who it was at Celtic who banned the Celtic fan media so why not help the interim chairman out? Happy to help, Brian. Now you know you may be able to do something about it.

Benjamin Nygren of Celtic celebrates after scoring Kilmarnock v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, BBSP Rugby Park, Kilmarnock. 15 February 2026. Photo Pete Summers IMAGO/ Shutterstock

Back to Benjamin talking about his Celtic manager. “He has so much experience. For sure. He’s brought a lot since he came back and also the first phase. But now when he came back as well, he has so much experience, knows so much. And he brings a lot of confidence to the whole team. So yeah, he’s been brilliant.”

When leaving after his first spell we got to see some footage of Martin saying his goodbyes in the Celtic dressing room with the legendary Celtic figures looking around to speak specifically to Nygren saying that he was his fourth favourite Swede behind Bjorn Borg, ABBA, and Henrik Larsson.

Henrik of course was no stranger to finding the back of the net against the original Rangers and Nygren would certainly love to do that today against the current club playing out of Ibrox since 2012.

Celtic’s Henrik Larsson (right) goes around Rangers goalkeeper Stefan Klos to score Celtic’s third goal during the Scottish Premier League match at Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow. (Photo by PA Images via Getty Images)

“That would be amazing. That’s what I want to do, to help the team to win the game,” Nygren said. “I always try to have my confidence really high. But yeah, it’s been very good lately. So for sure, myself and the whole team will bring a lot of it to the game.”

Celtic go into today’s Glasgow Derby on the back of a fine victory against VfB Stuttgart in the Europa League second leg play-off on Thursday night, which was Celtic’s first ever win on German soil in a competitive match.

Finn Jeltsch of VfB Stuttgart plays the ball next to Benjamin Nygren of Celtic FC during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between VfB Stuttgart and Celtic FC at Stuttgart Arena on February 26, 2026 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)

“It was a very, very good night, a very good win against a top side. They’re doing very well in the Bundesliga, so it’s a very good team that we were facing and, yeah, a strong performance.

“The Stuttgart Arena atmosphere was nice. Parts of the game we were doing really good, so they got a little bit silent and of course that’s because we were playing good,” Nygren noted with a hint that Celtic plan to quieten the Ibrox hordes today. “It was a very strong performance and a very good win that brings a lot of confidence to the team. But we play at big stadiums a lot, so it’s nothing new.

“We play at Celtic Park every week and we’ve played at Ibrox before, so it’s nothing new. I think that’s what all of the players want. You want to play in the big games. That’s what you dreamt of as a kid, to play in these big stadiums and these big games. So yeah, I think everyone in the squad is looking forward to the game a lot.”

Benjamin Nygren of Celtic celebrates after scores the opening goal during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD8 match between Celtic FC and FC Utrecht at Celtic Park on January 29, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

With Auston Trusty falling victim to last weekend’s dastardly plot from the MIBs, Celtic will have a different centre back pairing today at Ibrox, with the timing of this being merely a coincidence. Nygren though isn’t concerned about the enforced change.

“We have so many good players. Our new signing, Benji (Benjamin Arthur), came in the last game when Auston got sent off and he’s been looking good in training. And Dane Murray was playing on Thursday and gave a very strong performance. So we have a lot of good players in every position.”

Celtic will be looking for some revenge after theRangers won at Celtic Park two months ago in a freakish match Celtic should have won. It was the final straw as far as Wilfried Nancy’s time as Celtic manager was concerned.

Benjamin Nygren celebrates. Hearts v Celtic, 25 January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou.

“It definitely hurt the last time,” Nygren admitted. “You try to recover as fast as possible, even though it hurts a bit extra. But yeah, as everyone knows, the games come so fast. So you need to shift your focus as fast as possible and not live in the past for too long. I think for everyone in the club. We go into every game to win. That’s what we’re doing on Sunday.”

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order