MOHAMED Elyounoussi raised his goal tally to 11 for the season so far with a hat-trick against Motherwell at Fir Park today (Sunday), before saying he and his team-mates must keep momentum going after the international break.

The Norwegian internationalist keenly praised Celtic’s reaction after conceding in the second half this afternoon, and also praised the Hoops’ overall response to a disappointing result in midweek at Paradise.

“I’m delighted, and I’m very pleased that we had a good game as well, to get the win and the three points,” Elyounoussi told Celtic TV after the match. “I was disappointed not to get the hat-trick against Lille, but today I said to the manager, after getting the two goals, that I was going to go for the third and take the ball home. I’m obviously pleased with that and also to help the team get the three points as well.

“It was a great reaction after conceding today, that’s why the third goal was so important. They’d just scored, we had to show a reaction. We also had to show a reaction from Thursday’s game and I think we showed character today and showed the best side to our game, and now it’s just up to us to keep that momentum going.”

Now, Elyounoussi wants nothing more for the squad than to stay fit and healthy while representing their respective countries, before hitting the ground running on their return.

In doing so, he hopes to continue his scoring streak, and, speaking to today’s performance, said his daughter Amina is getting the match ball.

“Yes, my daughter is getting the match ball, definitely. She was watching the game from home so hopefully she was proud!

“We can hopefully go away now, get some wins with our national teams, stay healthy with no injuries and then come back here and go on from there. I didn’t realise I was at 11 goals, I just focus on the next one and the next game and then, in the end, see what the number is.”

Moi: I’m delighted with hat-trick but we must keep momentum going