Ex-Hibs man helps set new Scottish record in Italy as Celtic receive major Champions League boost

Serie A history was made on Sunday 20 October as three Scotland stars all ended the game on the pitch for the first time in the history of Italian football.

Midfield duo Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour both started for Napoli in a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Empoli, where they were paired against former Hibs and Celtic ace Liam Henderson, who was subbed on to the pitch in the 79th minute for his 76th appearance in Italy’s top-flight.

Napoli were far from their best during the encounter but did enough to reclaim top spot in the table from Juventus thanks to a second half penalty from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

McTominay, who was signed from Manchester United in the summer, has so far racked up six appearance in all competitions, scoring twice and providing one assist. 

He has been a regular fixture in Antonio Conte’s side but former Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour had been forced to settle for a place on the bench in all previous league games this season.

Gilmour covered the most ground of any player on the pitch at 11.3km in his first league start, but Conte, who was also his previous boss at Chelsea, felt the 23-year-old was “too timid” in an opening 45 minutes dominated by Empoli.

However, Conte did admit that Gilmour grew into the game during the second half and described the midfielder as an important option for his table-topping team moving forward.

“It was his first game, he was growing into it," Conte said. 

"In the first half he struggled a bit, in the second half he did a lot better like the whole team. I’m happy that we have him here, he is a great player. It was not easy today, the performance overall is positive and he is an important option for us.”

Celtic’s Champions League rivals suffer injury crisis

Celtic resume their Champions League campaign with a difficult away trip to last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta.

The Italian outfit sit sixth in the table at this early stage and have impressed in both their draw with Arsenal and their victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.

It promises to be a huge challenge for Brendan Rodgers side after a humiliating 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund but the timing of the trip to Bergamo could be perfect for Celtic as they face Atalanta at a time when they are without six first team stars.

The Daily Record has confirmed that the likes of Sead Kolasinac is a doubt for the game with flu. Meanwhile, captain Rafael Toloi, centre back Giorgio Scalvini, full-back Odilon Kossounou and midfielder Marco Brescianini are also missing.

Last season’s top scorer Gianluca Scamacca is also expected to miss the contest as he continues to recover from an ACL injury, sustained in August.