Kelechi Iheanacho had ice in his veins. When the Celtic striker stepped up in the dying embers of stoppage time against Motherwell on Wednesday evening to take a season-defining penalty kick, the nerves – both on the pitch and in the sold-out away end behind Callum Ward's goal – were palpable.
But Iheanacho kept his cool and slotted calmly into the bottom-left corner to earn his side an invaluable 3-2 victory.
The Nigerian described the penalty, which was awarded after Sam Nicholson was adjudged to have handled the ball inside his own box, as one of the biggest moments of his career.
It means Celtic have taken the title fight to the final day of the season, where they face long-time league leaders Hearts at Celtic Park. Win, and the championship is theirs.
Iheanacho has urged his teammates to give everything in the last act of a league season that has often defied description.
"You don't want to know what my heart was saying at that moment," the Celtic striker said of his late penalty against Motherwell.
"My heartbeat was high. It was really high. I don't know about the fans, but my heartbeat was really high.
"It was a pressure moment and I just needed to keep calm and focus and just put it in the back of the net. It was big pressure and a big moment so I'm happy we got through that.
"That game is up there. It's one of the biggest moments in my career."
It was between Arne Engels and Iheanacho to take the penalty. There are kicks upon which seasons hinge and it was one.
Manager Martin O'Neill later said that he fancied Iheanacho to score when he stepped up.
"I think my teammates too fancied me," the 29-year-old added.
"But to be fair, anybody in my position would be scared of that moment. It's now gone, and we need to just focus on the next one."
Did Iheanacho always plan on going bottom-left?
"Yes, I had a thing before I came up," he explained. "I just said I'm going to go there. I didn't change my mind. The keeper was teasing me a bit, but I didn't change my mind. I just kept my cool and went there."
🍀 "Iconic scenes."
Kelechi Iheanacho scores a late penalty to snatch a HUGE win for Celtic at Motherwell! We're going to have a final day title decider - live on Sky Sports!
Motherwell vs Celtic & Hearts vs Falkirk reaction | Sky Sports Football now 📺 pic.twitter.com/zfEuiD69ZP— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) May 13, 2026
Had Iheanacho failed to convert his penalty – and the match ended as a 2-2 draw – Celtic would still be in the title fight.
But in order to win the league, they would have had to beat Hearts by three clear goals this Saturday.
Instead, thanks to their frenetic Fir Park victory, they just have to defeat Derek McInnes' side by any margin. Easier said than done.
"I think it's a massive moment," Iheanacho continued. "It will be a massive moment for the club. This season, Hearts has been one of the strongest teams in the league. It's going to be a very, very difficult game.
"It's a title challenge game. They're going to come out with everything to win the title. We need to be ready to face that."
Iheanacho refuses to believe Celtic are now favourites to clinch the league championship.
"In terms of the writers, what people think, they might think like that," he said.
"But in terms of the football itself, it will be a really, really difficult 90 minutes. So, who comes out on top on Saturday will be the favourite."
Celtic have not entered the final day of a league season with the title on the line since 2011.
Back then, they had to beat Dundee United at Celtic Park and hope Rangers slipped up away at Kilmarnock, but Walter Smith's men ultimately emerged victorious.
During his five years in charge of Celtic at the outset of the millennium, O'Neill endured two painstaking final-day title losses.
This time around, he can rewrite the script. Saturday's match is a straight shootout for the league flag.
"It's going to take us to have this fighting spirit of winning trophies, fighting together as a team, working together as a team to win," Iheanacho said.
"We've had that all season, so we just take that in on Saturday. It's like a cup final, so we'll give everything. And we're at home, so we have to give everything to win and they're a very, very strong side.
"Celtic is a very massive club. It's a big club, so anybody that's coming to this big club needs to know what the club expects of them.
"It didn't go well at the middle of the season, but we picked ourselves up and we fight to this day to take it to the final day of the season.
"We're happy where we are at the moment, and we'll fight on Saturday to see that we win. It's very important to have big players in the team at the moment who have won things before."
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Celtic Park is already sold out this Saturday. It has come alive in recent wins over Rangers and Falkirk.
"I think the fans have been a very, very massive part of this season, so we'll need them one more time this season at Celtic Park to cheer us on, and they've been doing that all season, so they'll be massive on Saturday," Iheanacho added.
If Celtic are to win this title, Iheanacho can be assured of cult hero status in Glasgow's East End.
Brought in as a free agent after last summer's transfer window under Brendan Rodgers , the centre-forward has amassed 12 league points with goals against Kilmarnock, Dundee, Hibs, and now Motherwell.
He signed a one-year deal with Celtic upon joining. The club has the option to extend it by a further 12 months this summer.
"I think after 90 minutes on Saturday, then we'll talk about that," Iheanacho concluded, when asked about his future.
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