Celtic 3 - 1 Rennes: Celtic survive early blow to secure Euro boost

Ahead of the potentially crucial SPL assignment at Motherwell on Sunday, this was the perfect boost to morale and confidence for Lennon’s men, who recovered from the sloppy loss of a second-minute goal to overcome Rennes with two goals from Anthony Stokes and a late strike from substitute Gary Hooper.

The scoreline was a little harsh on the French side and certainly did not reflect much of the run of play. But, as Lennon fully appreciates, he is in a results-driven business and the manner in which his players set about achieving this welcome win confounded any notion they are not fully behind him.

With two Group I fixtures remaining, qualification for the knockout phase remains within Celtic’s grasp. Their next match, at home to Atletico Madrid on 30 November, can now be eagerly anticipated rather than dreaded by their followers.

The renewal of the Glenn Loovens and Daniel Majstorovic partnership in central defence would have been viewed with a sense of foreboding by many Celtic supporters, given the criticism heaped on the pairing earlier in the season. But the absence of Charlie Mulgrew and Thomas Rogne, due to injury and ineligibility respectively, left Lennon with little option but to give the Dutchman and the Swede another outing together.

Loovens was even handed the captain’s armband, but any added sense of pride and responsibility he felt could not help him prevent Rennes from exposing Celtic’s soft centre with their second minute breakthrough.

The visitors’ first raid into home territory was the source of mild panic in and around the Celtic penalty area. Goalkeeper Fraser Forster was unable to stop the ball crossing the line for a corner kick after it had looped towards his left hand post off Victor Wanyama. The set piece was curled in from the right by Julien Feret to pick out the run of Rennes captain Kader Mangane and, with Loovens and Majstorovic little more than bystanders, the big Senegalese defender thumped a firm header beyond the exposed Forster.

Lennon’s selection problems had not been confined to defence with Joe Ledley and Ki Sung Yueng, two of his first choice midfielders, also ruled out. Necessity being the mother of invention, Lennon opted for the surprise inclusion of mercurial Northern Ireland international Paddy McCourt in a floating role behind central striker Stokes, while Georgios Samaras and James Forrest foraged in advanced wide positions.

Rennes, playing with purpose and confidence, continued to retain possession more effectively in the early stages and threatened to double their advantage on more than one occasion before Celtic’s leveller.

Feret and Abdoulrazak Boukari linked up smartly on the right to cut open the Celtic defence with the kind of pacy counter-attack Lennon had pinpointed as Rennes’ biggest threat in the build up to the match. Boukari’s cutback found Alexander Tettey on the edge of the penalty area but the midfielder’s shot was blocked by Majstorovic.

McCourt provided the home fans with some encouragement with a typically weaving run which saw him upended illegally by Jonathan Pitroipa but Stokes failed to test Rennes goalkeeper with the free-kick from a promising position, smashing the ball into the defensive wall.

A slack attempted clearance from Loovens presented Rennes with their next opportunity in the 25th minute, the ball dropping to Tettey on the edge of the area but, mercifully for Celtic, Beram Kayal was alert to the danger and dived in to deflect the shot behind. It was a crucial intervention as Celtic altered the complexion of the match five minutes later with Stokes’ first goal. Forrest, who had seen precious little of the ball until then, burst into action as he cut in from the right and drove in a low shot from 20 yards. It should have been a routine save for Costil but the goalkeeper simply spooned the ball into the path of Stokes, who tapped in his first European goal for Celtic.

He did not have to wait long for his second. Two minutes before the interval, Stokes put Lennon’s men ahead. A long clearance from Forster was won in the air by the eye-catchingly industrious Samaras, the Greek nodding it into the path of Stokes on the left of the Rennes penalty area. The Irishman steadied himself and steered a precise, low, left-foot shot across Costil into the corner of the net.

His side may have taken the initiative but there were still problems for Lennon to contend with during the interval. Loovens, who was making his return from injury, was unable to continue and his replacement was 17-year-old Marcus Fraser, making his first-team debut in unexpected circumstances.

Rennes also made a change at the break, introducing Victor Montano up front for Boukari as coach Frederic Antonetti looked to re-energise his team as an attacking force. Montano should have brought them back on level terms just before the hour mark. Another well flighted free-kick from Feret caught out Fraser and Majstorovic, leaving Montano with a free header from eight yards but the Colombian flicked his effort over the crossbar.

Celtic made their second change of the night in the 66th minute, McCourt the recipient of warm applause as he left the field to be replaced by Kris Commons, who was greeted enthusiastically as he made his first appearance since the start of October.

Rennes looked increasingly menacing as the match went into the closing stages, substitute Youssouf Hadji twice being denied by excellent saves from Forster. But an anxious finale was avoided for the home side when they made it 3-1 with a tremendous counter-attacking goal with eight minutes remaining. Kayal spread the ball to Samaras on the left and the Greek picked out the run of Hooper, who had replaced Forrest just three minutes earlier, for the English striker to beat Costil with a firm low shot from around 12 yards.

Rennes’ frustration boiled over when Pitropia was sent off in the 86th minute, collecting his second yellow card of the night for a rash foul on Commons.

Celtic: Forster, Cha, Loovens (Fraser 46), Majstorovic, Matthews; Wanyama; Forrest (Hooper 79), Kayal, McCourt (Commons 66); Stokes, Samaras. Subs not used: Zaluska, McGregor, Chalmers, George.

Rennes: Costil, Danze, Mangane, Mandjeck, Theophile-Catherine; Tettey, M’Vila, Pajot; Pitroipa, Boukari (Montano 46), Feret (Hadji 70). Subs not used: Diallo, Mavinga, Jebbour, Doumbia, Sane.