Not even the finest young defenders in England can stop Moussa Dembele from hitting the net.
Last night the Celtic striker added to his glowing reputation with a double for the French U-21 side in their 3-2 win over England. He really is on a hot streak right now.
Dembele’s form at Fulham last season would have been closely monitored by all of the teams in the Premier League, but his exploits with Celtic have taken him into the sights of a very elite group of teams.
Of more immediate interest to Brendan Rodgers and the Celtic support is the upcoming matches against Barcelona and Aberdeen.
That first fixture, next Wednesday, gives Celtic the opportunity to emulate their 2012 achievement of beating the most celebrated club in the game, while the second match will allow Brendan Rodgers to get his hands on some silverware in the shape of the League Cup.
Dembele will be crucial to both of those ambitions, here we take a look back at the major moments this season that have made the 20-year-old French striker one of the hottest talents in the game…
Penalty vs. Astana
With Celtic’s track record for finding underwhelming strikers, a few concerns were being expressed about Dembele’s failure to score in pre-season or against Lincoln Red Imps.
Astana awaited in the following Champions League qualification round, and their second leg equaliser had left the tie on a knife-edge – another goal for the visitors and Celtic would have dropped into the play-off round for the Europa League.
When he won the penalty late on (the 92nd minute, to be precise) there was a sense of apprehension around the ground when Dembele stepped up with the ball in his hands.
It was relief as much as joy when he swept the ball into the net – no one was to know the scoring run it was about to kick off.
Hat-trick vs. Rangers
In the build-up to the match, Leigh Griffiths’ injury was the main talking point and was seen as a blow to Celtic’s Old Firm Derby hopes.
Dembele stepped up to the plate with intent and bossed the match.
Two goals before half-time rocked the fragile confidence of the visitors, and when he completed his hat-trick Celtic were on their way to derailing the Warburton bandwagon.
Double vs. Manchester City
After missing a penalty against Barcelona the young Frenchman didn’t wait around before breaking his Champions League duck, as he knocked the Hoops ahead in the second minute vs. Man City.
And then, early in the second half, Dembele scored the goal that made the whole of Europe sit up and take notice.
Kieran Tierney’s cross into the box was tamed before Dembele stunned Claudio Bravo with an scissor kick that rocked Celtic Park to its foundations as the fans realised what they had witnessed.
Hampden joy
It had been an afternoon of frustration for the Celtic fans as they watched their team push forward at every opportunity, yet be unable to force a goal in the League Cup semi-final against Rangers.
Dembele had been short of his best, snatching at shots and not looking at his most dangerous when Jozo Simunovic sent a raking pass towards Leigh Griffiths.
Anticipating the pass from Griffiths, Dembele raced towards the front post, flicked out his heel to take out Matt Gilks and Rob Kiernan with one touch to put the ball in the net.
Wow!
Away day point
After losing 2-0 at home and being forced to create a brand new defence there wasn’t much in the way of expectation as Celtic travelled to Borussia Monchengladbach.
The Bhoys were a little unfortunate to be behind at half-time but picked things up after the break with the introduction of Patrick Roberts troubling the German defence.
15 minutes from the final whistle Dembele was pulled down in the box, Julian Korb was red carded and the Frenchman stepped up to convert the penalty to earn Celtic a rare point on their Champions League travels.