Motherwell

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Motherwell eased aside Celtic to pile further pressure on Wilfried Nancy with their 2-0 victory at Fir Park, their first win over the Glasgow club since 2015, and they've got four players in my team of the week.

Certainly wasn't overworked by Celtic but when the questions were asked Calum Ward was more than up to the challenge.

Stephen O'Donnell delivered the cross for the opening Motherwell goal. An important part of the Steelmen success story.

So much class in the victory over Celtic. Elijah Just has great touch, awareness and an ability to bring out the best in all around him.

Ibrham Said is a bundle of energy, tenacity and guile - plus a big goal. Personifies the total buy-in the Motherwell players clearly have for their manager and his method and vision.

We asked for your views after Motherwell beat Celtic for the first time in a decade with an impressive 2-0 victory at Fir Park.

Here's what some of you said:

Alan: This was a whole team performance with everyone sticking to the system the manager is implementing. It was a superb classy display from defence, midfield and attack with no apparent striker! Confidence must be ingrained in all the players now and we can only go from strength to strength. All involved in the manager's appointment should be congratulated. Get him on a longer term contract now!

James: Another fantastic piece of football, all players working hard for the team. Jen Berthel Askou has the tactics spot on. So proud to be a supporter of this team.

Robert: Best display of the season. We didn't allow Celtic air, and this was about how well we played, not anything else.

Colin: Man to man one of the best performances I have seen from a Motherwell team. A deserved win and without a starting striker. As mentioned before the strikers are not good enough and I think Jens knows that.

Mark: Sensational Motherwell do it again! We limited Celtic to very few clear chances or shots. That was the best I've seen Motherwell play, ever. Completely snuffed Celtic out of the game and it could have been 5-0. Enjoy the new year Well fans, it will be a good one.

Derek: Outstanding from start to finish, Askou had a tactical masterclass, totally outclassed Wilfried Nancy with his team selection, the best I've ever seen us play against Celtic at Fir Park. Every game is enjoyable right now and I'm extremely confident we will be challenging for a European spot this season! In Jens-ball we trust!

Watch the highlights as Motherwell secured their first win over Celtic in 10 years to pile further pressure on manager Wilfried Nancy. (Available to UK users only)

Calamitous Celtic missed the opportunity to move level on points with Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts after defeat at classy Motherwell heaped pressure back on manager Wilfried Nancy as his chaotic reign took another wrong turn.

Read the match report here.

Have your say here.

Image source, SNS

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou tells BBC Sportsound: "I think it's probably the best we have performed so far in the season, if you take the full game into consideration.

"The level of the opponent, us coming in from a hard game three days ago where we had to shake off some disappointment, some frustration, to then come today and deliver this with a tactical change in the way we set up our defensive structure, with just one day for the players to convert that into this performance, that was fantastic.

"It's an impressive win and it's a day that our supporters and everyone in the club will remember for a long time... We'll try and forget it.

"I think my most important words I said in the dressing room were that we are not going to let this stop us, meaning that we're not going to think now we're a fantastic team and now we've done everything because we had this signature win that everyone's talking about for us.

"What we need to do is to create something over time and over the course of the season and the three points today and the clean sheet helps on that."

Image source, SNS

Cillian Sheridan believes Motherwell will be "genuinely lucky" to retain forward Tawanda Maswanhise.

Maswanhise has scored 12 goals for the Fir Park side this season and continued his good form with a goal for Zimbabwe in their 3-2 Africa Cup of Nations defeat by South Africa on Monday.

The 23-year-old has played wide and through the middle this term.

"They'll genuinely be lucky to keep a hold of him," former Celtic and Republic of Ireland forward Sheridan told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"The start he's had, the goals he's scored and he's continuing to do it at international level in a big tournament. So, it'll be interesting if they can hold on to him in January, I think.

"My guess would be that [it] would be a club outwith Scotland. It's good that he's done it for Motherwell in the Scottish league, but the fact he's doing it at a major tournament probably will alert bigger clubs in different leagues.

"So, I wouldn't be surprised to see him leave the country and leave the league."

Image source, SNS

Motherwell's on-loan defender Stephen Welsh cannot play against his parent club while Regan Charles-Cook is injured and Tawanda Maswanhise is on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Andy Halliday, Jordan McGhee and Aston Oxborough are closing in on returns while long-term absentees Sam Nicholson, Zach Robinson, Filip Stuparevic and Eseosa Sule continue their rehab.

Celtic remain without Kelechi Iheanacho, Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand and Marcelo Saracchi along with Jota and Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Image source, Getty Images

Tawanda Maswanhise scored a fantastic goal for Zimbabwe in a 3-2 defeat to South Africa, which ends their involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations.

On 19 minutes, the Motherwell forward jinked past a couple of defenders and rifled a low shot into the corner to level the game at 1-1.

A late penalty converted by Oswin Appollis proved to be the decisive goal.

A second defeat of the tournament leaves Zimbabwe last in Group B, with Egypt and the South Africans progressing.

Image source, SNS

• Motherwell are winless in their last 35 meetings with Celtic in all competitions (D5 L30) since a 2-1 league win in December 2015.

• Celtic have won each of their last 11 away games at Motherwell in all competitions by an aggregate score of 36-7, scoring 2+ goals in all 11 wins.

• Motherwell are without a win in their last 31 league matches against reigning Scottish champions (D7 L24) since a 2-1 away win over Celtic in December 2015. At home, the Steelmen have lost each of their last 10 league games versus defending champions, conceding 35 goals in the process.

• Motherwell have only lost their final league game of a calendar year in one of the last four years (W2 D1), a 0-3 defeat at Rangers in 2022. They last faced Celtic to finish off a year in 2010, losing 1-0.

• Celtic's Daizen Maeda has been directly involved in 30 goals in 33 Scottish Premiership appearances in 2025 (18 goals, 12 assists). Since Opta have this data available (from 2013-14), the only players to record more goal involvements in a single calendar year in the competition are Anthony Stokes (31 in 2014) and Leigh Griffiths (32 in 2015).

Motherwell players were "lost for words" at the decision not to award them a penalty late on in their defeat at Rangers on Saturday, says midfielder Elliot Watt. (Daily Record), external

Read all of Monday's Scottish football gossip

Watch highlights as Rangers end Motherwell's unbeaten run with a narrow win at Ibrox to replace the Steelmen in third place in the Scottish Premiership. (Available to UK users only)

We asked for your views on Motherwell's 1-0 defeat against Rangers at Ibrox.

Here's what some of you said:

James: Another great performance but with no cutting edge. Also robbed by the no penalty decision, gutted for the team.

Susan: Motherwell deserved more from that game. Rangers got away with it, with the help of some questionable decisions by the referee. A shame but not a season-defining result. Onwards!

Marcus: Yet again the lack of a proper goalscorer has cost us and the other players act like they're scared to take a shot on. If we get an offer for Apostolos Stamatelopoulos like we did in the summer then I would hope we take it and put that money towards a new striker. Also, it's time to give up on the Callum Hendry project, he is simply not good enough. Until we have a proper striker, this team will just spin its wheels and go nowhere.

Grant: It shows how far we have come that we are disappointed with not getting something at Ibrox. It's great to see us going for it and it also shows the new manager that we can't expect to get a penalty away to Rangers with the structure in Scotland.

Colin: Our lack of penetration and goal threat is and will be the biggest undoing this season. You can't go to a place like Ibrox and miss so many chances and not get punished in the end. We need to try and address this in January if possible, our two main strikers just don't have the cutting edge needed. Calum Ward had a great game and was our man of the match.

John: Once again an outstanding performance from Motherwell, except for the missing link, someone to convert the chances. Clearly a penalty in the dying embers, would be interesting to hear the VAR commentary.

Motherwell boss Jens Berthel Askou: "We did everything we could to win the game, and even at the end when we were 1-0 down we did our best to at least get one goal and get a draw.

"At times, it was an absolutely outstanding performance. There was a lot of momentum change, especially in the first half when we started fantastically in the first 15, 20 minutes.

"Both goalkeepers had to pull out one hell of a performance.

"I think we did everything we could and created a few opportunities in the end and also an opportunity that should, any day, have led to a penalty.

"He takes a very smart move between the legs of Fernandez and tries to get passed him, Fernandez lets his leg hang a little bit and trips him.

"I think it's quite simple and obvious."

Rangers moved into third over Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership with a narrow 1-0 win.

Have your say on the game here.

Read our match report here.

Image source, SNS

Rangers defender John Souttar has returned to training after eight games out with a muscle injury but is unlikely to feature.

Nasser Djiga is on Africa Cup of Nations duty. Derek Cornelius, Nedim Bajrami and Oliver Antman remain out with muscle injuries while Rabbi Matondo (knee) is closing in on a comeback.

Motherwell defender Liam Gordon is back after missing the win over Dundee with illness.

Andy Halliday, Jordan McGhee and Aston Oxborough are closing in on returns while long-term absentees Filip Stuparevic (knee), Sam Nicholson (knee), Zach Robinson (Achilles) and Eseosa Sule (thigh) continue their rehab.

Image source, SNS

Johnny Koutroumbis happily played host to several Motherwell team-mates on Christmas Day as Jens Berthel Askou's side forge close connections on and off the pitch.

Compatriot Oscar Priestman, New Zealand international Elijah Just and Austrian midfielder Lukas Fadinger were the guests - but Koutroumbis steered clear of cooking, "just to avoid any mistakes".

"My missus cooked this time, kept me out of the kitchen," said the 27-year-old full-back.

"It was like a multicultural Christmas. I think about my past Christmases, spending it away from family. Australia's Australia, I can catch a flight home whenever I would like, but it's so big that it's expensive.

"So being in different cities, I would spend Christmas with other families that I've met along the way.

"So for me to host Christmas this year for a couple of the boys meant that I could bring everyone together. And some of them, like Oscar, were spending their first Christmas away from home.

"So it's good to have that, you know you're not spending Christmas alone. I mean, even though he has a partner, it's good to just bring everyone close around this time of year and make everyone feel special.

"There's no bad blood between anyone. Whatever happens out on the pitch, everyone shakes each other's hand afterwards and we go the next day.

"I think we're all on the same wavelength in that regard. We all want to go in the same direction.

"We all have a goal this year to have as much success as possible, as a team and as individuals as well.

"I don't think it's a surprise by the way that we conduct ourselves on the pitch at training and during the games that we're in the position that we are, because I feel totally confident we can keep pushing and see the next half of the season go our way."

The Steelmen, who face Rangers are Ibrox on Saturday, have not conceded a goal in 581 minutes and have kept six consecutive clean sheets, their best run since 1996.

Askou's side have not lost in 10 Premiership games and sit one place above Rangers in the table.

Talking about the defensive record, Koutroumbis said: "We work a lot at it at training. So it's no surprise to us. We do a lot of game situations where we have to defend where the numbers aren't in our favour, and we deal with it sometimes out on the pitch as well.

"And Wardy [Calum Ward] has saved us numerous times as well when they have got shots off.

"But it's just a credit to the collective group, not only just the defensive players, but as a team as well, because the defence starts at the top and works its way down. It's a wavelength thing and we work at it consistently at training."

Image source, SNS

• Rangers have won just one of their past five league meetings with Motherwell (D2 L2), going winless in their latest three (D2 L1) since a 2-1 victory in August 2024. Never before have the Ibrox club gone four games without a league win against the Steelmen.

• Motherwell have won two of their past three away league games at Rangers (L1), as many as their previous 45 beforehand (W2 D7 L36). They are looking to win successive such visits for the first time in their history, with this their 141st trip.

• Rangers have won three of their four home league games under Danny Rohl (D1), after only winning two of their previous 10 prior to his arrival (D4 L4).

• Rangers' James Tavernier has been directly involved in 18 goals in 27 Scottish Premiership appearances against Motherwell (9 goals, 9 assists), only having a hand in more against St Johnstone (20 – 8 goals, 12 assists) and Ross County (19 – 8 goals, 11 assists) in the competition.

• Motherwell's Tawanda Maswanhise - who misses out at Ibrox because he is playing at the Africa Cup of Nations - has scored more goals (8) than any other player aged 23 or younger in the Scottish Premiership this season. He also has the joint-most goal involvements (9 – 8 goals, 1 assist) by players 23 or under (level with Kieron Bowie).

Image source, SNS

Motherwell will have Liam Gordon back in their squad for Saturday's Scottish Premiership encounter with Rangers.

The defender missed last weekend's 1-0 win over Dundee but will face a battle to dislodge Paul McGinn and Stephen Welsh from central defence after the Steelmen made it six games without conceding a goal.

Manager Jens Berthel Askou said: "We have Liam Gordon back in the squad. He was sick the last game. Besides that there is nothing new."

Welsh is set to play his last game of 2025 at Ibrox as the on-loan Celtic defender cannot face the champions on December 30.