Canadians in Europe: Johnston scores in Celtic win

Alistair Johnston found the scoresheet in a Celtic win, Moïse Bombito made his Nice debut and Bournemouth fans got their first look at Daniel Jebbison at home. Here's a look at Canadians in Europe over the weekend.

Alistair Johnston, Celtic - Sunday's visit to St. Mirren saw a rarity for Celtic. It wasn't the victory. Those aren't rare at all when it comes to the Bhoys taking on the Buddies. St. Mirren has beaten Celtic just three times in the past 15 years. What wasn't a common occurrence in the Hoops' 3-0 win at St. Mirren Park was a goal from Alistair Johnston. The Canada right-back picked up just his third ever Scottish Premiership goal in the match that made it three league wins from three matches from the defending champions. Celtic started brightly and were rewarded early. Johnston led the play forward and found James Forrest to his right on the edge of the box. Cutting inside, Forrest dropped off for the trailing Callum McGregor who struck with his left foot from outside of the area to beat the diving Ellery Balcombe to make it 1-0 in the third minute. Controlling the play for much of the half, 30 minutes later, the Bhoys would grab another. Johnston lofted a high ball towards the far post that was headed down by Daizen Maeda into the path of Japan teammate Reo Hetate to one-time with his left foot off the inside of the post and in to make it 2-0 in the 33rd. With Celtic firmly in control, Johnston got on the scoresheet in the 71st. Nicolas Gerrit-Kuhn raced down the left and spotted the run of Johnston into the area. Sliding as he shot, Johnston lofted his right-footed effort into the net to wrap up the three points at 3-0. After three matches, the Hoops sit atop the table on nine points thanks to a superior goal difference over Aberdeen.

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Moïse Bombito, Nice - Moïse Bombito made his Ligue 1 debut for his new club on Sunday following his move from the Colorado Rapids as Nice hosted Toulouse. The Montreal native slotted into the middle of a three-man backline that also featured Antoine Mendy and 40-year-old former Bayern Munich and Brazil defender Dante. The match also marked the home debut for new Nice manager Franck Haise. The former Lens gaffer took over the club in the summer with Francesco Farioli departing for Ajax. The first half was a scoreless one, but that didn't mean the ball didn't find its way into the net. Late in the half, Mohamed Ali Cho met Evann Guessand's cross with a diving, thumping header to seemingly open the scoring, but the goal was called back thanks to a foul by Melvin Bard in the lead-up. Bard was booked for his troubles. The hosts would open up the scoring early in the second 45. It was almost a disaster for Nice early in the second half. Under pressure from Frank Magri, Marcin Bulka's clearance to Bombito was a poor one, allowing Yann Gboho to strip the Canada defender just inside his own area. Luckily, his shot was deflected out by Dante for a corner. In the 53rd, the hosts got on the board with a fine team move started out of the back by Bombito. France forward Jonathan Clauss initiated a give-and-go down the left side with Hicham Boudaoui. Boudaoui smartly played Clauss in on an angle to beat Guillaume Restes through the wickets to make it 1-0. As great as the effort was, questions could be asked of Restes on the goal. Exactly 20 minutes later, the visitors were level and they were full quality for it. In the 73rd, Gboho sent an absolutely sublime ball to the far post over the head of Bard for Shavy Babicka to one-time past Bulka for a fine equalizer. The match would finish on a 1-1 scoreline leaving Nice to still search for their first victory of the season. Bombito played the full 90 minutes in his debut.

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Daniel Jebbison, Bournemouth - Oakville, Ont.'s Daniel Jebbison's international future has yet to be decided. Now 21, Jebbison and his family left Canada when he was 13 to help facilitate his football career. In 2018, he joined the Sheffield United academy and made his first team debut with the Blades in the Premier League in May of 2021. That same year, Jebbison was called up to the England U-18 squad. Since then, Jebbison has also represented England at the U-19 and U-20 levels. Obviously, that doesn't close the door on Jebbison representing the country of his birth. Jebbison not yet received a senior cap from the Three Lions, so he can still play for Canada should he receive an invitation and choose to accept it, Canada manager Jesse Marsch spoke earlier in the summer about how getting dual nationality players to commit to Canada was a major priority ahead of the 2026 World Cup. He got his first commitment last week when Burnaby, BC-born Croatia U-21 Niko Sigur of Hajduk Split announced he would be representing Canada moving forward. Whether Jebbison joins that list remains to be seen. With the expiration of his deal with the Blades on July 1, Jebbison signed a four-year deal to return to the Premier League with Bournemouth and he made his home debut for the Cherries on Sunday at home to Newcastle. It was the hosts who opened the scoring in the 37th. Antoine Semenyo bullied Joelinton off of the ball inside the Toon half and moved forward. Going wide into triple coverage, Semenyo did well to get a cross off across the face of goal for Marcus Tavernier to poke home at the goalmouth with a fine side-footed finish to make it 1-0. The hosts' lead would carry all the way until the 76th. Substitute Harvey Barnes whipped a fine cross to the far post where it was made by England winger Anthony Gordon to make it 1-1. Minutes later, Jebbison would make his entrance in the 85th, coming on for goal scorer Tavernier. Jebbison didn't have much to do in the waning minutes of the match that ended at 1-1, but his appearance was proof that manager Andoni Iraola has enough trust in the player to thrust him into a critical situation. Whether or not Jebbison remains at Bournemouth ahead of the transfer window closing on Friday remains to be seen. Watford has been keen to take the player on a full-season loan and there were reports that an agreement had been reached, but the loan had been at least temporarily scuppered by the Cherries' sale of Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur.