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Motherwell 2-5 Celtic: Griffiths nets on first league start of 2019 in rout

  /  autty

Leigh Griffiths marked his first league start of 2019 with a goal as Celtic came from behind to thrash Motherwell 5-2 at Fir Park.

Motherwell briefly stunned the Scottish Premiership champions when Liam Donnelly's turn and shot beat Scott Bain at his near post 12 minutes in.

But just a minute and 49 seconds later Celtic were level, with Kristoffer Ajer's run from the back untracked before he was slipped in by James Forrest to slot past Mark Gillespie.

Griffiths smashed in a low free-kick just before half-time as the Bhoys improved but after half-time they stepped up their level, and put the game beyond Motherwell when Forrest held off a challenge to find the bottom corner (66).

They added insult to injury when substitute Odsonne Edouard fired in from the edge of the box (76) before a foul on him allowed Ryan Christie to add a fifth from the spot (86). In added time Donnelly netted his second from close-range but Celtic's second convincing win from two was already long secured.

What's next?

Celtic host Cluj in Champions League qualifying on Tuesday with the tie finely balanced at 1-1, while Motherwell host Hearts on Friday at 7.45pm.