Jota: I want to keep bringing joy and happiness to the fans | OneFootball

Jota’s dream return to the Hoops continued this afternoon at Celtic Park as the Portuguese winger grabbed his first Paradise goal since rejoining the club in the January transfer window.

His strike was the second of three goals that the Celts scored against Dundee United today, as the champions swept past the Tannadice side to secure a 3-0 win and give themselves a 16-point lead at the top of the table.

And speaking to Celtic TV after his Man of the Match performance this afternoon, Jota said that his focus is on continuing to put smiles on the faces of the Celtic faithful.

“Returning is definitely something special,” he said. “Celtic fans always make me feel so happy. They’ve given me something that nobody has ever given to me.

“I want to give the best of myself on the pitch, and as a group we want to deliver and win titles as well.”

Captain Callum McGregor gave the Bhoys the lead with just under 25 minutes played this afternoon and, as with most of his goals so far this season, his strike was a thing of beauty.

McGregor, who has now scored eight goals from the season, found the bottom corner with a shot from just inside the box and, reflecting on his captain’s goal and the match overall, Jota was keen to stress the importance of getting the first goal as he praised the side for today’s performance.

He said: “It was a crazy goal, a really good one! He showed his class and the first goal is always important.

“It’s the one that gives us a release and the game becomes more open which allows us to do our stuff. So it was good to have the goal from him.

“We had our strategy and then it was about putting that together on the pitch.

“We have our intensity, we’re dynamic and we have the flow. In the end we delivered and I’m very pleased with that.”

Next up for the Celts is a trip to Germany to face Bayern Munich in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-off.

The Hoops trail 2-1 after the first leg on Wednesday night, with Daizen Maeda’s consolation goal keeping the tie very much alive ahead of Tuesday’s match.

And speaking about Celtic’s chances in the upcoming match against Bayern, Jota said that there is faith in the Celtic camp that Tuesday could be a memorable night for Glasgow’s green and white.

He added: “We’ll go there to fight. We know it will be a very difficult challenge.

“Bayern Munich are one of the best teams in the world, but I think everyone could see in the last game that we can do very interesting stuff.

“We’ll go over there with the same mentality, to do good things, to look for the result and to hopefully get the win.”

Fixtures

Celtic Vs. Dundee United - Sat, Feb 15th 2025, 15:00 Final score: 3 - 0 Match Report | Highlights