O’Neill backs Duran to shine at Celtic after impressing in draw with Milan

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Martin O’Neill has predicted a bright future for Camilo Duran at Celtic after his scoring start to life in Glasgow continued against AC Milan on Saturday. 

Celtic concluded their pre-season preparations with a 2-2 draw against the Serie A giants at Parkhead, with Duran grabbing a goal and an assist during the first half. 

The hosts took the lead in the 11th minute through Duran, who capitalised on Strahinja Pavlovic’s poor pass back to goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani before stroking the ball home. 

Another defensive error from Ruben Amorim’s side doubled Celtic’s lead, this time Samuele Ricci’s loose ball was intercepted by Duran, who cut back for James Forrest to fire into the net and give his team a two-goal cushion going into the break. 

However, Milan reduced the deficit two minutes after the restart when Cameron Carter-Vickers brought down Francesco Camarda inside the penalty area, with the half-time substitute dusting himself down to send Viljami Sinisalo the wrong way from 12 yards. 

Camrada then hauled his side level five minutes later after heading in from Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent cross, but neither side was able to find a winning goal.

But O’Neill was pleased with the overall performance and highlighted Duran for praise. He has netted three goals in three games since completing his £6m switch from Qarabag. 

Duran also finished with team-high totals for touches in the opposition box (four) and fouls won (three), while only three Celtic players won more duels than his four. 

“I have already said this, but if he stays clear of a serious injury, I think he will be a real asset to us,” O’Neill said. “I think he is a fine footballer. 

“He read the situation brilliantly for the second goal. He intercepted the pass back to the goalkeeper, and he ended up playing his part in what was a great goal for us. 

“We were doing really well up until that point. We wanted to press at good times, but we became a bit too casual at the beginning of the second half. 

“That is not a word I would use often to describe one of my teams, but that was the case. But I thought in the last 20 minutes we became a lot stronger.”

It ends level in our final pre-season match #CelticACMilan | #CelticFC pic.twitter.com/DoDtsQASaX

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) July 25, 2026

Celtic concluded their pre-season preparations with just one defeat from their five matches (W1 D3) ahead of their opening match of the Scottish Premiership next Monday. 

They take on Dundee FC at Parkhead as they begin their title defence, though O’Neill conceded his team needed to overcome their own lapses in concentration that were on show against Milan. 

O’Neill’s side finished with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.1 from their seven shots to Milan’s 1.8 from their 10 attempts, though the Celtic boss believed his team more than matched the Serie A side, who finished fifth in the Italian top-flight last season. 

“I was very pleased with a lot of the things we did,” O’Neill added. “We pressed strongly for long phases of the game and were able to add a couple of goals too. 

“Other than a little period just after half-time when we conceded the penalty and then a 10-minute spell where we lost control, considering it was AC Milan, we played very well.”

Celtic’s victory came on the same day Daizen Maeda joined Premier League side Ipswich Town for £10m, though a replacement for the Japan international could be imminent. 

It has been reported that Celtic have agreed a club-record fee of £11m plus add-ons to sign striker Kasper Hogh from Bodo/Glimt on a four-year contract. 

Hogh netted 17 goals and provided five assists in the Eliteserien in 2025-26 and was also a key part of Bodo’s giant-killing run to the Champions League round of 16. 

He scored five times in the competition last season, the joint-most by a Danish player in a single campaign, whilst his eight goal involvements were the outright most for a Danish player in a single season in the Champions League. 

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