Celtic surged to a resounding 5-1 Champions League victory at home to Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday night.
Irish defender Liam Scales got the scoring underway after 17 minutes, powering a header into the back of the net from a vicious Arne Engels corner.
Kyogo Furuhashi was the next on the scoresheet shortly after the interval, nudging home a crossed ball from Nicolas Kuhn after the German winger bamboozled the Slovakian defence with a dribble into the box.
Engels turned scorer from provider by sticking away a cool penalty in the 57th minute following a foul on Alistair Johnston.
Then, Daizen Maeda slotted Reo Hatate’s classy assist home to restore a three-goal lead after the visitors pulled one back through Kevin Wimmer.
The goals didn’t stop there. Substitute Adam Idah came into the match to punish the Slovakians from James Forrest’s sublime through ball and score his first goal of the season.
Brendan Rodgers oversees Celtic masterclass in Champions League
Celtic were excellent throughout the 90 minutes. As has been the standard this season, Brendan Rodgers sent his team out to be aggressive and combative out of possession, while showing patience and class when on the ball.
The manager got his team selection and tactics spot on. He was taking charge of his 49th European match tonight. That experience and maturity really shone through with an accomplished display.
It’s clear Celtic now have confidence and belief at this level. It’s the Bhoys boss who has given them that over the last 12 months. The Scottish champions are ready to attack this tournament.
This was also Celtic’s biggest-ever win in the Champions League group stage. That’s worth celebrating in its own right.
Celtic win on Champions League group stage opening night for first time
Remarkably, Celtic have failed to ever win on matchday one of the Champions League. That streak is ended tonight in the best possible way.
Everyone knew that the home side were hot favourites to get the victory but no tie is a walkover at this level and Celtic had to prove a point that they were ready for this challenge.
Nothing is won on paper. Celtic now have a fantastic building block to push on from in the remaining seven games. These three points were absolutely vital to get on the board with ambitions of getting into a top 24 playoff position.
Bhoys standouts exploit Slovan Bratislava
If anyone typified tonight’s performance it was Daizen Maeda. Not only did he expertly take his chance in the second half but his exceptional defensive efforts helped Celtic exploit the opposition.
He was consistently tracking back to pressure Slovan Bratislava and help his teammates win back the ball, also showing his endurance with strong running and movement up the pitch in the opposite direction.
Arne Engels also showed he belongs at Celtic with a top-class and measured performance beyond his young years.
In honesty, it was a complete team performance and a joy to watch. Celtic haven’t been in the habit of picking up massive European victories of late, so enjoy this one thoroughly.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
