League Cup
Saturday, August 15, 2026
Tannadice Park, Dundee
DUNDEE UNITED...0
CELTIC...4
(Trusty 22, Durán 24, Tounekti 54, Nygren 63)
Celtic are through to the quarter-final of the League Cup after a resounding 4-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice with Auston Trusty, Camilo Durán, Sebastian Tounekti and Benjamin Nygren all getting on the scoresheet.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was the first to fire a shot towards goal, and although his effort from edge of the box was saved by Jack Walton with no issue, the move which led to the chance saw the Hoops move the ball from back to front brilliantly.
Julius Eskesen came close to firing the home side into the lead with just over 10 minutes gone, though thankfully for Celtic his powerful strike from outside the box crashed off the base of the post and spun away to safety.
The post came to Celtic’s rescue again just moments later, and this time it was Emmanuel Agyei with a shot from the edge of the box that rebounded off the woodwork.
In the 22nd minute, Celtic took the lead with a goal that will have pleased new set-piece coach Ross Grant. Benjamin Nygren fired a well-delivered cross in from a corner which was met at the front post by Auston Trusty, whose glancing header sent the ball in to the far corner of the net to make it 1-0.
Just a few minutes later, it was 2-0, with Camilo Durán grabbing his first competitive Celtic goal. Benjamin Nygren was involved again, sending a clever pass through to Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain in the box, which the Englishman fired across the face of goal. Kasper Høgh tried to divert it into the net, but when he was unable to do so, Durán was there to open his Celtic account and double the Hoops’ lead.
Nygren, who played a part in both of Celtic’s first-half goals, came close to getting his name on the scoresheet with five minutes of the half remaining when he shot from the edge of the area after a lay off from Kasper Høgh, but his effort was blocked just a few yards from goal.
After hitting the post twice in the first half, the woodwork prevented Dundee United again at the start of the second 45. This time, Zac Sapsford’s powerful effort from 18-yards out rattled the crossbar, and Celtic’s two-goal lead remained intact.
After weathering Dundee United’s pressure in the opening exchanges of the second half, Celtic extended their lead in the 53rd minute with a brilliant goal.
The move started with Kasper Høgh holding the ball up in the middle of the park before slipping a pass to Benjamin Nygren. The Swede in turn found Sebastian Tounekti, who cut inside from the left wing and sent a tidy shot beyond the reach of Jack Walton and into the bottom corner to make it 3-0 and put the tie beyond Jim Goodwin’s men.
Just before the hour mark, Martin O’Neill made his first change of the evening, swapping Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Mika Baur, with the latter making his debut after joining the club during the week.
The German midfielder made an instant impact, finding Tounekti with a clever flick on 35 yards from goal. Tounekti in turn found Benjamin Nygren who produced a sensational finish from just inside the area to make it 4-0.
With Celtic’s place in the League Cup quarter-final secured, Martin O’Neill rang the changes with 25 minutes left to play, bringing Dane Murray, James Forrest and Luke McCowan on for Auston Trusty, Benjamin Nygren and Kasper Høgh.
Another of Celtic’s new signings, Egyptian winger Haissem Hassan came off the bench for his debut with 20 minutes of the match remaining, replacing the scorer of Celtic’s third goal, Sebastian Tounekti.
In the dying minutes of the game, Dundee United came close to a consolation goal, but once again the woodwork denied the home side, and Celtic ended the match with a 4-0 win.
Next up, Martin O’Neill’s men turn their attentions to Europe and the visit of Austrian side LASK to Celtic Park in the Champions League play-off first leg on Wednesday.
Fixtures
Dundee United Vs. Celtic - Sat, Aug 15th 2026, 17:45 Final score: 0 - 4