OLIVIER Ntcham last night admitted his injury-time winner for Celtic against Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico was the biggest moment of his career – then predicted the Parkhead club are capable of winning the Europa League this season.
Ntcham came on for his club mate Ryan Christie in the second-half of the Group E match in Rome and netted with in the fifth and final minute of added-on time to secure a famous 2-1 triumph for Neil Lennon’s men.
The French midfielder’s sublime strike meant the Scottish champions triumphed on Italian soil for the first time in their entire history – and also secured a place in the last 32 of the Europa League at the same time.
Asked if it was the most important goal of his life, Ntcham said: “Maybe, yes, It was important for the history of the club for sure. It was a special moment for everybody I think.
“Everybody enjoyed it, the team, me too. Everybody is very pleased and proud of doing what we did today. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a great moment for everybody, for the fans too. I think everybody enjoyed this night.”
Ntcham received the ball from his countryman Odsonne Edouard and looked to have gone too wide with his first touch, but he chipped over advancing Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha and into the net to clinch a thrilling triumph.
“It just happened,” he said. “It was a great ball from Edouard. The keeper was close to me. My first touch was a little bit wide of the posts. It was the right option to shoot.”
The 23-year-old celebrated with some of his trademark backward somersaults and admitted he nearly injured himself amid all of the excitement. “I slipped a little bit,” he said.
Ntcham now wants Celtic, who play Rennes at home later this month and then Cluj away next month, to finish on top of their section so they can receive a more favourable draw in the knockout rounds.
He believes that Celtic are capable of going all the way in the Europa League this season if they can reproduce their performance against Lazio in the coming weeks and months
“We want to finish first," he said. "We have started quite well with the draw to Rennes and now the wins over Cluj and Lazio. Anything is possible. We have to keep going like this. If we finish first we get a better draw in the knockout rounds.
“I think it says a lot about what we can do in Europe. Lazio is a top team in Italy. I think we can go far in this competition, even win. But I don’t want to speak too early. We will just take it game by game and focus on the next game.
“I think it was a really good performance. We create a lot of chances. I think we can do a little bit better in front of goal with our finishing, but sometimes it is like that. We have to keep trying. I hope to keep playing now.”
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