Premier League
Bundesliga
Published on Sep, 19 2024
It was a European night to remember for Celtic for the right reasons as they won their opening Champions League match for the first time, and in style.
Their 5-1 victory against Slovan Bratislava was also their biggest win in the group stage, with five different goalscorers.
Among those on target were £11m signing Arne Engels - on his Champions League debut - and £9.5m summer arrival Adam Idah, who got his first of the season, while £6m signing Auston Trusty made his first Hoops outing.
It was the perfect start for Celtic in the new-look tournament, but with tougher tests ahead in their next seven games - does that one performance against a side making their tournament debut give hope of a place in the knockout stages?
A top-eight finish would earn Celtic an automatic last-16 place, with a play-off awaiting for the teams who end up between ninth and 24th.
Engels impact
The pressure on Engels was instant when he arrived at Celtic on Deadline Day for a club-record £11m fee.
It was a cautious start by the 21-year-old as he experienced the noise and atmosphere that comes on a European night in Glasgow, but any nerves soon disappeared as he more than showed his worth in midfield - scoring and providing an assist.
Brendan Rodgers said Engels was signed for the big games, and it is certain there is far more to come from him.
"It was great identification by our recruitment team," he said.
"We knew after last year what we wanted in the team, which is someone who has all the ideas we want in terms of tactical and technical ability. But at this level you need to have a physicality and running power.
"We knew he was playing in a top league and we felt we could take him here and improve his game.
"I'm pleased for him he gets his goal, but the overall performance from him and the team was very pleasing."
It was a Champions League debut to remember for the former Augsburg player who admitted he had "never experienced anything like it".
There will be much tougher challenges ahead for Celtic with Engels refusing to get carried away by one good performance.
"The noise before the game was mental. It's been amazing, the crowd was amazing, the team was amazing, so it's now up to us to keep on going, keep on working and don't get sloppy," he said.
"I need to work every day to get a relationship with everybody. I've still only been here for a week and a half.
"I need to keep on going and work in training on every detail and see footage of the game that will also improve my game. I hope and think it will only get better."
No regrets
Celtic's last two Champions League campaigns have been undermined by missed chances but they were keen to ensure history did not repeat itself.
Yes, they could have been further ahead before half-time but their second-half display showed they had learned from those past failings.
Kyogo, Engels, Daizen Maeda and Idah all scored after the break as any hope Bratislava had of salvaging something from their first Champions League match was quickly extinguished.
One lapse in concentration did hand the Slovakians a consolation and it was a reminder to Celtic that at this level, even against one of the lowest-ranked teams, you can be easily punished.
After making Parkhead one of the most feared grounds in European football in the early part of the century, Celtic have struggled at this level for a long time.
Rodgers felt the need to change the mindset to bring that fear back.
"I said 'don't overthink it', that's the key. The razzmatazz around the Champions League is amazing but we are playing against a team who defend 4-4-2, which we play against in the league. There are different tiers but it's still the same idea.
"You can see the confidence we have from pre-season. That's the level and we want to keep showing that.
"It's giving the players the belief to play our game because those goals, you will have seen them a number of times.
"Sometimes when you are playing in the Champions League, people think you have to do something different. You don't, just get the intensity in the game, make it really difficult to play against with our pressure and fight for the ball and that will activate you with the ball.
"We know where we want to get to as a club and that was a nice step."
Three points, five goals and five different goalscorers made for a thrilling Champions League opening night for Celtic.
Rodgers promised to learn from last season's disappointment in Europe, promised big summer signings who can deliver and promised his team would have a plan to compete at this level.
From pre-season preparations against Manchester City and Chelsea that helped shape how they would set up on the biggest stage, to twice smashing their club-record transfer fee and now creating history in the group stage - perhaps this could be the season Celtic really make their mark on the Champions League.
There is still work to do and that was arguably their easiest test, but one thing is certain - they will head to Germany to face Borussia Dortmund next month bursting with confidence.
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