1. Our French connection – two goals from French Eddy and one from Olivier Ntcham completed a convincing victory over Rosenborg. Celtic fans will be increasingly excited to see what the pair have to offer this season. Ntcham’s drive into the corner secured the comeback and Edouard’s Larsson-esque chip finished the Norwegians off. And remember that all happened without our third Muskateer, Moussa.
2. A Night of What Ifs – Celtic could have and should have scored many more goals tonight but hopefully we won’t rue missed chances in Norway. Bar, post and bodies were in the way of Celtic and more goals; however, the fluid second half performance means fans will look forward to next week’s trip to Trondheim. It’ll be a tough game in Norway, as we saw in stages last year; however, they’ll need to come out and if they do, Celtic’s strength in attack should overwhelm our opponents.
3. Resilience – Celtic showed enormous resilience to turn the tie around, especially against a team that showed no real intent to attack. Their aim was to sit and pounce on mistakes and Celtic offered them a chance and they took it. Celtic applied pressure, pace and patience to complete a holy trinity in the second half and perform impressively.
4. World Cup stars – Cristian Gamboa started for Celtic this evening versus Rosenborg after a period in the wilderness at Lennoxtown. The Costa Rican was impressive throughout the 90 minutes and will give the manager food for thought going forward. Meanwhile, Jack Hendry was competent at the back despite his blip in concentration conceding possession and allowing Rosenborg to score. Another World Cup performer made an appearance in the form of the Magic man, Tom Rogic. Rogic’s cameo was steady and he’ll be hoping to make an impact in Trondheim next week after creating a few good chances in his time on the pitch.
5. Returning Heroes – With Dedryck Boyata, Mikael Lustig, Moussa Dembele, Jonny Hayes and Leigh Griffiths are all due to return soon and competition for places will be rife. AEK Athens await if we complete the job next week. A tough game over both legs but this group look capable of progressing the numerous and turbulent qualifiers.
Lewis Faulds
