Celtic legend Packie Bonner has lauded Kelechi Iheanacho's ability to change matches from the bench after the Nigeria international netted another game winner for the Hoops in a 2-1 win at Hibernian on Sunday afternoon.
The Manchester City academy graduate has now scored seven goals in 20 appearances across all competitions for the reigning Premiership champions.
Remarkably, six of those goals have come as a substitute, against Kilmarnock, Red Star Belgrade, Dundee FC, St. Mirren (twice), and Hibernian, underlining his growing reputation for making a decisive impact in key moments.
With Celtic pushing for a winner to maintain pressure on league leaders Hearts, manager Martin O'Neill made a decisive change, introducing Iheanacho in place of Hyun-jun Yang with 20 minutes remaining.
Barely two minutes later, the travelling supporters were celebrating as the Nigerian forward brought the ball down with his chest before guiding home the finish to make it 2–1.
"Everybody connected with Celtic breathed a sigh of relief at the end. They made really hard work of it," former Celtic goalkeeper Bonner said on BBC Sportsound.
"Iheanacho came off the bench and he's a proven striker. The big problem for him is lasting a full game but what an impact he made. The goal was really, really good."
The future of Iheanacho is likely to dominate headlines in the coming weeks, with his Celtic contract set to expire on June 30, 2026.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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