Celtic Park in ferment - how Brendan Rodgers delivered on Champions League promise as ex-Rangers man tormented
Celtic romp to victory in Champions League opener
Celtic did not let their manager down. They were as they had been billed. They were primed. They were on point. The gladiators were ready.
A first-ever opening match win at this stage of the competition meant the handsome victory felt more significant than just three points, although they are gratefully received. It seemed as vital for what it represented. Celtic now know how it feels to hit the ground running at this stage of the competition.
Inspired by record signing Arne Engels, they blew the visitors away. It underlines the dominance they enjoyed here to note that even a margin of four goals, Celtic’s biggest ever victory at this stage, felt a little flattering for the outclassed opposition.
Slovan Bratislava had posted a reminder that there was another team in the equation when Austrian full back Kevin Winner rifled in for 3-1 just after the hour mark.
But Daizen Maeda quickly responded, turning the ball into the net after Reo Hatate had played it into his path with 20 minutes left.
A few lighters were still flickering from the tribute to the 1967 European Cup winners in the 67th minute but this was an evening when the synergy between fans and players was notable from the first minute to the last, and indeed continued for some time after Dutch referee Danny Makkelie’s final whistle. The supporters made sure they stayed on for this and roared their appreciation, with manager Brendan Rodgers seeming to particularly enjoy this lap of honour. He has delivered on another promise.
The new format seems to appeal to a team boasting such a rich heritage in the tournament and yet who never quite got to grips with the previous configuration.
A Liam Scales header from Engels’ corner got Celtic underway after just 17 minutes. They were relentless before as well as afterwards, with Kyogo Furuhashi doubling the home team’s lead just after half time following brilliant work from the right by Nicolas Kuhn.
Engels, the £11 million man, continues to shrug his shoulders at the idea that he might be performing under a degree of extra pressure and added a third from the spot ten minutes after half time, after Alistair Johnston was clipped.
Celtic Park was in ferment. Finally, it seems, they might have a team for built for such occasions.
Rodgers had certainly expressed his belief that the time had come when they might just have the resources required. Celtic have experienced many traumas at this level, under Rodgers as well as others. Results such as 1-5 and 1-7 against Paris Saint-Germain and 0-7 v Barcelona spring to mind.
This time it was another lot on the receiving end and it must have felt good.
A new format, an old flame. The Green Brigade hoisted up a tifo that spelled out their club’s relationship with the competition. "Last night as I lay dreaming," the first line from an old Irish ballad, was stitched into a large banner alongside the cup itself, perched on a bedside table. Also included was the date of all dates: 25 May 1967.
That was then, this is now. It’s all about flashing lights and booming anthems now. Still, given all the so-called improvements to the competition, there was something rather quaint and old school about the champions of one country playing the champions of another country. Champions are champions wherever they come from, warned Rodgers pre-match.
He also knew that playing a Slovakian side first gave Celtic an opportunity to make an early mark in the competition. The hosts started like a team possessed. It felt impossible they would do anything other than secure three points.
There were some brief moments of anxiety. Slovan Bratislava could not be discounted in the same way that teams such as Hearts cannot be completely discounted when playing Celtic. The visitors had their moments but they were fleeting. They also had a pantomime villain in Vladimir Weiss, the former Rangers winger and son of the manager, also Vladimir.
Vladimir Snr might have been better off replacing Vladimir junior. It was clear he was allowing the emotion of the night get the better of him. He was booked for felling Engels shortly after Celtic had edged ahead through Scales' powerful header, that went into the net off 'keeper Dominik Takac's shoulder.
Weiss's every touch was being jeered and he was even falling out with his own teammates. But there was also the suspicion that he might yet have a say on the evening. It was probably why his father was persisting with him. He was going to either score or be sent off, perhaps both. He very nearly did get a goal on the half hour mark when he found – or was inadvertently given – space in the box he wasted the opportunity when transferring the ball onto his right foot and was quickly closed down. A first-time effort might have been more profitable. Celtic Park erupted when he was eventually replaced after 75 minutes.
This was football in the raw. No time to settle, no time to think. The pace got to Kyogo at one point after a sweeping move down the left. Hatate centred but his compatriot hooked over. Kyogo might have had a hat-trick here and probably should have done. Takac saved well with his legs after Nicolas Kuhn had played the Japanese striker in.
Maeda hit a header straight at Takas when it seemed easier to score following a cross from Kuhn. He later made up for it.
Every Celtic player seemed to be intent on atoning for some previously bleak nights in this competition, even if those who were not party to these failures.
Champions League debutant Adam Idah came on and promptly slipped a shot beyond Takac to make it 5-1 after fellow sub and slightly more experienced campaigner James Forrest had released the striker with a threaded pass.
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