Wilfried Nancy embraced a stroke of luck that secured his inaugural victory as Celtic manager with a 3-1 win against 10-man Aberdeen at Parkhead.
After facing significant pressure following four consecutive losses to Hearts, Roma, St Mirren, and Dundee United, the Frenchman’s fortunes finally turned against the Dons.
Midfielder Benjamin Nygren put Celtic ahead in the 39th minute, and Aberdeen’s woes worsened just before halftime when 20-year-old defender Dylan Lobban received a straight red card for a foul on Daizen Maeda.
The send-off came after a mistake by Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, whose otherwise commendable performance, alongside the woodwork, prevented a larger defeat.
Kenan Bilalovic managed to equalize in the 74th minute after coming off the bench, but late goals from Keiran Tierney and substitute James Forrest propelled the Hoops to within six points of William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts, with Celtic holding a game in hand over the Jambos.
“I don’t believe in luck, but since I’ve been here, luck hasn’t been on my side,” Nancy commented. “It’s true that we encountered misfortune—against Hearts we conceded a goal in a puzzling way, and we missed a penalty against Roma.
“We’ve hit the woodwork in nearly every match, but the key takeaway is my players’ resilience.
“I’m really proud of their performance because they missed so many chances, and despite going behind against 10 men, they didn’t let their heads drop. They continued to press forward.
“Attack, attack, attack—wave after wave.
“The two goals we scored were just reward for the determination and resilience they displayed. I truly enjoyed witnessing their ability to bounce back after so many losses.”
Former Columbus Crew head coach Nancy explained that he could have postponed his early December start with Celtic but wanted to evaluate the squad ahead of the January transfer window.
“That’s why I arrived at this time,” he said. “I could have come a bit later, but we all agreed that it was the right moment since I needed time to assess the team and take stock.
“If I was only thinking about myself, maybe it could have been delayed, but the timing is essential.
“I accept everything that has occurred.”
Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin had no objections to the outcome.
He stated, “We aimed to adopt a more aggressive approach at the start, but we were defensively reactive in the first half, and Celtic outperformed us, yet we managed to stay in the game.
“Then, following the red card, we tried to pose more threats at the front in the second half, but we experienced some fortunate moments in the first 10 to 12 minutes, with Mitov making some solid saves.
“The result is fair. We wanted to secure a point, but we fell short.”