Paulo Bernardo hails 'best' Celtic day so far as he reveals when his Rangers nerves REALLY kicked in

He’s only been a Celtic player for 121 days.

But young Portuguese star Paulo Bernardo might never better the one he had yesterday against Rangers. The 21-year-old, who joined on loan from Benfica in September, hit a stunning first-half strike on his Old Firm debut to put Brendan Rodgers’ side in front. That capped an outstanding all-round display by the midfielder against their city rivals as Celtic secured a vital win. His goal was a thing of beauty – and Bernardo admitted it was the best moment of his Parkhead career so far.

He said: “It was really good for my first game against Rangers. It was a nice game to play in, the atmosphere was really good and I enjoyed it a lot. Yeah, it’s probably my best day as a Celtic player so far. It was a great win for us and I was very happy to help the team with my goal. All I remember is the ball coming to me, shooting and the ball going into the net.

“I always believe I can score a goal and my mindset is just to try and help the team. In every game, I aim to do that with goals and my performance.

“When I scored, the crowd went crazy which was nice. But now this game is over and we need to focus on the next one against St Mirren. It was a massive win for us today, but we know that it doesn’t serve anything for us if we don’t win the next game.”

Bernardo has had to bide his time under Rodgers before establishing himself in Celtic’s midfield. Yesterday was his third start on the spin and after scoring his first goal for the club against Dundee in midweek, he followed it up yesterday with his second and his most polished display in green and white.

Boss Rodgers took him off in the second half and Bernardo admits he was more nervous OFF the pitch than he was on it. He said: “It is