Chris Sutton has expressed his appreciation for the ‘petty’ mind games from Hearts duo Lawrence Shankland and Craig Halkett during Celtic’s win at the weekend.
Shankland attempted to unnerve Celtic’s Arne Engels as he prepared to take a penalty by taunting him about the pressure, while Halkett made reference to his transfer fee. Despite the distraction, Engels coolly converted the penalty, helping Celtic secure a 2-0 victory.
During his podcast, It’s all Kicking off, Sutton discussed the incident, highlighting his enjoyment of such moments in football. He noted the pair’s efforts to rattle Engels, who seemed unfazed as he executed the penalty with precision. Sutton also humorously pondered whether Engels, being Belgian, fully grasped the Scottish accent during the exchange.
He said: “My moment of the weekend. Celtic won at the weekend and their first goal scorer was Arne Engels from the penalty spot. I love the sort of pettiness over in football.
“Engels – the big new signing for Celtic for £10million. As he is getting ready to take the penalty [Lawrence] Shankland is screaming at Engels ‘£10million, £10m, big pressure, high right and all that’. Engels just strolls up and sends Craig Gordon the wrong way. Fair play to him. I wonder if he understood Scottish first and foremost. I sort of quite like what Lawrence Shankland was doing anyway. But it didn’t phase Engels at all.”
Engels was a class above the rest on Saturday; that was clear to see. The quality just oozed out of him, even though he looks like he’ll need a few more games to catch up with the rest of the squad.
He’s got his first goal under his belt now and will look to kick on, both domestically and in Europe.
Celtic get underway in Europe on Wednesday when Slovakian side Bratislava make the trip to Celtic Park for the 8 pm kick off.
