PATRYK KLIMALA staked his claim to move up the pecking order of Celtic’s striking options as his first goal for the club was enough to claim a draw against OGC Nice in the first match of the Veolia Trophy.

The Pole came on as a second-half substitute in the Groupama Stadium and forced a mistake from Nice keeper Teddy Boulhendi to roll home the equaliser after Kasper Dolberg had given the home side the lead just before half-time.

Had Leigh Griffiths been here instead of back at Lennoxtown working on his fitness, the young Pole might never have got on, but he will hope to have shown his manager Neil Lennon that he can also offer something as a back-up option to star man Odsonne Edouard.

Celtic boss Lennon went with a strong team for his side’s first game in 131 long days, with the starting XI arguably not far from the first-choice picks from those available.

Of course, some areas may be strengthened between now and the start of the campaign proper, not least of all in the goalkeeping position, but Scott Bain had the chance here to lay down his claim for the number one jersey.

With Griffiths absent, the Celtic formation reverted to 4-2-3-1, with Odsonne Edouard supported in attack by James Forrest, Ryan Christie and Mohamed Elyounoussi.

The front four were causing problems straight away, and they thought they had their reward within minutes as Elyounoussi came off the line to link up with Christie, who forced the ball through to Edouard via a ricochet. The young Frenchman did the rest, rounding Walter Benitez and slotting home, but the goal was bizarrely ruled out after a lengthy VAR check for offside, despite the ball being knocked into Edouard’s path by a home player.

The striker should have done better when Greg Taylor put a peach of a cross on his head soon after, skewing well wide, but for all of Celtic’s domination of the opening 20 minutes, they could have been behind but for a fine Bain save from Dolberg's header before Ikhan Sacko blasted the loose ball over.

Celtic continued to be well on top in the game, but they would have been disappointed in the manner by which they fell behind six minutes before the break.

Again, it was Dolberg causing the problems, cutting in off the left and getting past a weak Christopher Jullien challenge before Kristoffer Ajer sold himself by diving in, leaving the forward clear to slot low past Bain.

That apart, it had been a satisfying half for Celtic, who had passed the ball well and shown an impressive ability to press their opposition high given the stage of their pre-season preparations.

They should have been level just after the restart, Edouard putting Christie clean through only for the attacker to open up his body a little too much and uncharacteristically place wide from a glorious position.

Come the hour, came the substitutes, with both managers making wholesale changes. There was a first sighting of Ismaila Soro in midfield, while the likes of Klimala, Karamoko Dembele, Scott Robertson, Ewan Henderson and Stephen Welsh were also given the chance to impress.

It was Klimala who seized his opportunity, showing great energy and endeavour to press substitute goalkeeper Boulhendi into a mistake, charging down his attempted clearance and steering into the empty net for his maiden strike in the Hoops.

It was no more than Celtic merited from an entertaining enough friendly, and while getting match fitness into the legs of his players after such a lengthy lay-off was of course the top priority, Celtic boss Lennon would have been pleased too that his men avoided an undeserved defeat.