Celtic 3 Rennes 1: Three things we learned

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Celtic clinched top spot in Group E of the Europa League with a comfortable 3-1 win over Rennes on Thursday night.

Goals from Lewis Morgan, Ryan Christie and the returning from injury Mikey Johnston ensured that the Hoops ended the group stage with a 100% home record.

Even though Celtic had already qualified for the last 32, the Hoops were determined to keep their winning run going, and that is what they did. Here we look at three things to come out of the game:

1. Hoops have plenty of strength in depth

Celtic boss Neil Lennon may have assembled one of the strongest squads that the Hoops have had in years. That is shown when you look at the players who weren’t involved against Rennes. The likes of Tom Rogic, Odsonne Edouard and Jeremie Frimpong didn’t feature at all. That shows how strong a squad Celtic have. Edouard and Frimpong in particular have been key men for the Hoops this season, but it is a good sign that the Hoops managed to achieve the win without important players featuring.

2. Deadline day signing wasn’t overawed

Greg Taylor made only his second start for the Hoops since signing from Kilmarnock on transfer deadline day. The player wasn’t overawed in his biggest game yet for Celtic. He looked solid enough in defence, and got forward on a regular basis. He and James Forrest worked well together at times. You would imagine that they will improve as they play more games together. Taylor can be pleased with his performance, and it would be no surprise to see him start against Ross County on Sunday.

3. Comeback Bhoy hasn’t lost a step

Neil Lennon will have been thrilled with the impact Mikey Johnston made in his return to first-team action. He scored a fine goal in his first Celtic appearance since the start of September. It looks like he hasn’t lost a step in his time out of the team. Indeed, it looked as if he had been playing every week, so impressive was his performance. Once he gets fully fit the Hoops winger could be a huge player for the Hoops in the battle to win nine in a row.