AROUND this time last year, Celtic took on Astana over in Kazakhstan in a Champions League qualifier and struggled badly.
Yes, Leigh Griffiths netted an invaluable away goal late on in the game to earn the Scottish champions a perfectly respectable 1-1 draw, but they withstood something of a pummelling from their hosts.
It then took a nerve-shredding 2-1 victory at Parkhead, a result which was only achieved courtesy of a Moussa Dembele penalty in the very last minute, for them to progress from the third round to the play-off.
So the emphatic margin of victory with which Brendan Rodgers’s side defeated Stanimr Stoilov’s team by this time around – they ran out 8-4 aggregate winners last night – underlines just how much they have progressed in the space of the last 12 months or so.
Can they fare better in the group stages, where they drew home and away with Manchester City and with Borussia Moenchengladbach away last term, as a result?
Their second half display showed there must be further improvement still – both up front and at the back – if they are make it through to the knockout rounds for only the fourth time.
Their travelling supporters, who made the long journey to central Asia in the hope of seeing another comfortable victory, had to endure a few anxious moments in the second 45 minutes last night as a result of their slack play in the final third and midfield and sloppy positioning at the back.
The fact the visitors were missing their three first choice centre backs – Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko are both injured while Jozo Simunovic was not risked on the astroturf surface – undoubtedly complicated their task.
Kristoffer Ajer, the 19-year-old Norwegian defender, formed a new partnership with Nir Bitton, the Israeli midfielder who has been moved out of position in the absence of his team mates in recent weeks, at the back. It was far from ideal.
Still, the three goals which Celtic, drawing 1-1 on the night, but winning 6-1 overall, let in at the start of the second half will not make for particularly pleasant viewing when Rodgers and his charges watch back the footage. Serikzhan Muzhikov and Patrik Twumasi, who pounced twice, were not made to work especially hard for their strikes.
At 6-4 with 20 minutes remaining it was looking far from the formality that so many seemed to think it would be six days earlier. Indeed, memories of the traumatic Hapoel Be’er Sheva game at the same stage last year came flooding back to many of those viewing.
Scott Brown and his team mates, though, should have been leading comfortably before that such was their fine play during the first half. Scott Sinclair went close with two attempts before opening the scoring with a sublime effort. Callum McGregor, meanwhile, could also have netted after getting a shot on target.
With Celtic set to bank over £30 million from their involvement in the Champions League group stages for the second season running the £3m required to land Sinclair seems paltry. The £4.5 million acquisition of Ntcham from City also looks to be an inspired piece of business. The 21-year-old Frenchman was another to excel in these hugely-important games. His use of the ball last night was flawless. He capped another impressive individual showing when he scored a deflected goal with 10 minutes remaining.
Rodgers, though, will know that more hard work will be required before the group stages where Celtic could face Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Paris- Saint-Germain.
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