A thumping challenge from Copenhagen striker Dame N’Doye - when he clattered his own head into Christopher Jullien’s - may have shook the sense of the Celtic defender on Thursday night, but he is clear in his conviction about what he saw a little bit later.

While the talking point for most after the first leg of the Europa League tie between the Danish and Scottish champions was the use of VAR to award the hosts a second-half penalty, Jullien is adamant that the technology should have been utilised earlier to rule out N’Doye’s equaliser for a handball offence against the striker in the build-up to the goal.

When a query as to his well-being following the head knock he sustained was put to him, Jullien said: “I was more concerned about the Copenhagen goal - I think VAR should have come into that.

“Their striker clearly put his hand on the ball in the build-up. It was right in front of my face. That’s why we lost it. For me, I felt it was definitely not going to be awarded as a goal. In my head, I was sure VAR would rule it out.”

That’s not to say Jullien was about to let N’Doye off the hook for the late challenge he put in on him in the first half in the Telia Parken either.

“That was a difficult one for me,” he said. “I told the referee and their striker that I was clearly in the air and was clearly going to win the ball. Why was he coming? He knew he wasn’t going to win the ball.

“The referee said we both played the ball, but their striker definitely didn’t. He took more of my head than the ball. But since I joined Celtic, I’m getting used to that now.”

Jullien’s lingering frustrations from the first leg extend to the result, with the Frenchman annoyed that his side didn’t return to Scotland with a healthy advantage after creating a series of clear opportunities in Denmark.

He and his teammates will take that sense of injustice, as well as the many positives from their first-leg performance, into Thursday’s return leg at Celtic Park, where he is certain they will have enough about them to progress.

“We definitely feel we should be in a better position after the first leg,” he said. “We could have been two or three up in the first 15 minutes.

“But we will take that away goal, which is obviously positive for us, and see how it is next Thursday.

“I’m disappointed we conceded a goal but defensively we were okay. In the second half, Copenhagen were pushing a lot.

“We definitely have to change some aspects of our game for the second leg because we allowed them too many crosses into the box. We have to put more pressure on them and I’m sure we will.

“We know we should have scored more goals in Copenhagen, but we feel confident about the second leg.

“We just need to keep that mentality we have had since the turn of the year and win the game.”