Scintillating Celtic put on a five-star Champions League masterclass as they overpowered newcomers Slovan Bratislava to win their opening game in the competition for the time time at the 13th attempt.
Brendan Rodgers’ side ran out rampant 5-1 winners on a rare night when the Scottish champions began the match as favourites against the lowest-ranked team in Europe’s premier competition.
This was a truly invigorating performance full of energy, poise and panache and marked the ideal start for the Hoops as they kicked off the new-look format in style. Not only did they managed to score FIVE goals for the first time ever in a Champions League game, Rodgers set his team up perfectly.
They looked far hungrier than the Slovakian champions, who had reached this stage after coming through four qualifying rounds, where they disposed of Struga (North Macedonia), Celje (Slovenia), Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus) and FC Midtjylland (Denmark).
It didn’t take long for Celtic to open the scoring when centre-back Liam Scales rose highest in a crowded penalty area to glance home Arne Engels’ corner on 17 minutes and a flurry of other opportunities followed. However, the hosts were unable to add to the scoreline before the interval.
The second half began just as the first had with Celtic firmly on the front foot and Kyogo Furuhashi doubled their lead two minutes after the restart. Terrific work from Nicolas Kuhn saw the German winger skip past two opponents before hitting the by-line and squaring the ball to the Japanese frontman to tap home from point-blank range.
That goal seemed to banish any lingering nerves among the vocal Celtic support and further chances came their way with Engels coolly slotting home a third goal from the penalty spot after Alistair Johnston was clipped on the heel by Danylo Ihnatenko after getting to the ball first.
Kevin Wimmer’s outstanding finish with the outside of his boot handed Bratislava a consolation on the hour mark, but Celtic were still hungry for more goals and Reo Hatate teed up Daizen Maeda to re-establish a three-goal cushion ten minutes later. And substitute Adam Idah timed his run to perfect to latch onto fellow sub James Forrest’ defence-splitting pass to ice the cake four minutes from time.
Here’s how we rated the Celtic players on a fabulous night at Parkhead.
1. Kasper Schmeichel - 7/10
Comfortable save to thwart Kucka early doors. Denied a clean sheet in second half but had no chance of keeping out Wimmer's stunning finish, even at full stretch. | Getty Images
2. Alistair Johnston - 8/10
Excellent vision to pick out Maeda with a long diagonal inside the opening five mins. Booked midway through first-half for a late tackle after the whistle had gone. Survived a scare after letting Weiss in behind on the half hour mark. Whipped in a dangerous cross which just evaded Kyogo after the restart. Won the spot-kick after getting to the ball first ahead of his opponent. Got forward to great effect and did a power of running. Almost got on the scoresheet with a deflected cross which wrong-footed the keeper. Subbed. | SNS Group
3. Cameron Carter-Vickers - 7/10
Strolled through the game until the closing stages. Used the ball extremely well and defensively resolute. Unfortunate to nod Wimmer's sumptuous effort beyond his own keeper on the hour mark. Picked up a needless booking for pulling Strelec's jersey which could come back to bite him later in the competition. Recovered well after playing Engels into trouble late on. Subbed. | SNS Group
4. Liam Scales - 8/10
Foot perfect once again. Important block from Strelec's early goal-bound effort. Excellent glancing header from Engels' corner to break the deadlock. Became the first Irish player to score in the Champions League since May 2011 in the process. Rarely tested defensively and won most of his aerial duels. A terrific shift. | SNS Group