Three Celtic players who caught the eye in friendly win over Sligo Rovers

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The international break may well be in full swing but Celtic still had a friendly fixture to fulfil against Sligo Rovers in Ireland.

Celtic announced the friendly against Sligo Rovers in early September as Brendan Rodgers paid tribute to the Hoops’ Irish roots.

Brendan Rodgers rang the changes as he named a very different Celtic side to face Sligo Rovers from the one that beat Ross County on Sunday.

• Starting XI: Bain, Welsh, Nawrocki, Agbaire, Valle, McCowan, Bonnar, Dobbie, Palma, Yang, Turley
• Substitutes: Morrison, Rice, Robertson, Bonetig, McArdle, Davidson, Cannon, Haddow, Isiguzo

In a game that started off brightly in the first half, Celtic took an early lead through Luis Palma after he found himself free at Sligo’s back post to slot home from six yards.

However, the League of Ireland side fought back with two quick goals in a night Scott Bain will be keen to forget.

Celtic’s third-choice ‘keeper fumbled Kailon Barlow’s long-range 12th-minute effort to allow Sligo to draw level.

The Irish side then took the lead after a great strike from distance from Simon Power caught Bain at his near post as the Celtic goalie clearly showed some rustiness in his first appearance of the season.

Celtic pushed and probed and found a late equaliser as Palma volleyed in his second in the 86th minute and the Honduran sealed the win with his hattrick in the 93rd minute to confirm the 3-2 victory.

Luke McCowan, Luis Palma and Hyunjun Yang shine for Celtic in Sligo Rovers win

Brendan Rodgers gave many young Celts the opportunity to show him what they could do and, in truth, not many stepped up to the plate.

Lenny Agbaire looked strong at times and had a decent fifteen minutes in the second half as he pushed forward with Hyunjun Yang and Sean McArdle did will after coming on as a 61st-minute sub.

But it was Luis Palma, Hyunjun Yang and Luke McCowan who were the standouts.

Palma got Celtic’s three goals and looked bright and hungry in the first ten minutes. Some decent wing play in the second half with a long-range free kick just off target were the Celtic winger’s highlights.

Hyunjun Yang looked in the mood and not afraid to take on the Sligo full-backs as the South Korean looked to show the Celtic boss he has what it takes to win a place in the Hoops’ first team.

McCowan was excellent in the heart of the Celtic midfield as he pulled the strings and dictated the play with some decent passing and interplay with the Hoops front line.

For now, it’s back to Glasgow where Rodgers can continue to rest his first-team players for the remainder of the international break and prepare for Celtic’s next lot of seven fixtures as domestic and European business resumes.