Bamidele Yusuf: Ferencvaros’ hero crowns Celtic Park with emotional Europa League opener

Super Eagles hopeful Bamidele Yusuf delivered a one-goal, two-assist Celtic Park masterclass to inspire Ferencvaros' 3-1 UEFA Europa League league-phase opening victory over Celtic in Glasgow on Thursday night, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 25-year-old Nigerian forward opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a deflected drive off Celtic defender Liam Scales, before setting up Kristoffer Zachariassen just before half-time and Daniel Arzani in the second period to complete a genuine man-of-the-match performance.

The Hungarian champions' opening Europa League statement arrived alongside a tribute to Hungarian blues legend Deák Bill Gyula, who had passed away that same Thursday, giving the Ferencváros dressing room an emotional atmosphere across the 90 minutes.

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Bamidele Yusuf: ‘The first goal was very important to us'

Speaking after the match, Yusuf highlighted the specific importance of his 20th-minute opener, describing the strike as the moment that formally settled Ferencvaros' nerves after a long journey to Scotland.

“We came a long way to Glasgow, and it was very difficult tonight,” Yusuf said in quotes revealed by M4Sport.

“The first goal was very important to us. It gave us momentum and allowed us to play the way we wanted to.”

The Nigerian's opener arrived after a run in from the right flank and a low, angled left-footed effort that was diverted past Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo by Liam Scales' attempted interception.

Zachariassen's goal in stoppage time of the first half restored Ferencvaros' lead after Mika Baur had equalised for Martin O'Neill's Celtic, and Arzani's second-half strike against his former club sealed the result.

Ferencváros goalkeeper Ádám Varga, who kept a composed presence between the sticks across the 90 minutes, dedicated the victory to the memory of Deák Bill Gyula, whose death was announced on Thursday morning.

“I am very happy, the match really turned out the way we expected. It was very clear that we had prepared extremely well tactically,” Varga said.

“We held up very well, and as we progressed in the match, the pressure decreased and we got into the game, created chances and scored beautiful goals.

“From the 60th minute, you could only hear the Fradi supporters, and it was a really good feeling.

“I would like to take this opportunity to offer this victory to Deák Bill Gyula. We learned before the match that he had passed away, so we played for him too. We are very happy to have finished the match with a win.”

The Ferencvaros victory extended the Hungarian champions' unbeaten record on the continent this season, taking them to nine competitive European matches without defeat (seven wins and two draws) heading into their October 15 second-round home fixture against Czech side Viktoria Plzen after the International break.

For Yusuf, the Celtic Park performance speaks to his dreams of representing the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the biggest stage.

The 25-year-old remains uncapped at senior international level, but head coach Eric Chelle's September AFCON qualifier squad announcement omitted his name, meaning he has to work harder to walk his way into the coach's November plans

A one-goal, two-assist performance at Celtic Park places him on the radar of the Franco-Malian tactician, and Yusuf's Super Eagles debut is edging closer if he can keep up his good form.