MOHAMED Elyounoussi took his Celtic goals tally to seven since joining on a season-long loan from Southampton with a double in the 5-2 Betfred Cup semi-final win over Hibernian at Hampden.

And the Norwegian forward even passed up the chance to go for his hat-trick late in the game when he opted to provide an assist for Scott Brown’s second goal of the game.

Elyounoussi’s overall performance highlighted his growing importance to the team, and his manager praised his display as the Hoops booked their place in next month’s final.

“He was outstanding, and that’s the best he’s played since he’s come in,” said Neil Lennon. “He’s getting better and you can see why Southampton paid Basel a lot of money for him. Sometimes players lose their way and he’s got another home, if you want to call it that, and he is thriving in the environment.

“He’s playing with good players and we’re seeing the best of him now. I think we’re making him better and he’s making us better.

“He’s in a good place and he’s a good kid. I really enjoyed his performance today and his football intelligence was of a very high level.”

As for his captain, Neil Lennon again reiterated just how important Scott Brown is to the team. The captain, who managed to shrug off a knock picked up during the midweek win over St Mirren, was a dominant presence in the heart of the Celtic midfield, and also chipped in with two second-half goals.

It’s the first time the Celtic skipper has scored two goals in a game since December 2014, when he netted twice in a 4-1 league win over St Mirren. Now he and his team-mates can look forward to a trip to take on Lazio this Thursday in the UEFA Europa League.

“The fifth goal against Hibs was a brilliant goal, and, again, Scott’s just been in outstanding form,” said Neil Lennon. “We were concerned about him coming off on Wednesday, but he came through the fitness test no problem, lasted the 90 minutes and scored two goals in a semi-final. He just keeps writing more stories for himself.

“We know what a huge incentive it is to go to Rome and get a result, and off the back of the semi-final win and the feel-good factor, psychologically, the players will all be in a good place.

“They’ll all be wanting to play, because when you’re playing well, scoring goals and playing the kind of football they are producing, you just want to keep going. You don’t want to train, you just want to get out there and play again.

“It’s a titanic game ahead of us, we know the calibre of opposition we’ve got on Thursday night in Lazio, but it’s not beyond us.”

Neil Lennon: Goalscorers were top Bhoys in Hampden triumph