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THE BIG STORY: Brendan Rodgers was unsurprisingly thrilled with last night’s 1-0 victory over Rosenborg (you can read our match report here), which clinched Celtic’s place in the Champions League Play-Off round, describing the performance as ‘mature’ compared to the performances at this stage of the season last year. He was also full of praise for goalscorer James Forrest and Nir Bitton, who came on as a sub for Erik Sviatchenko and performed well in an unfamiliar centre-half position. Match winner James Forrest proclaimed himself ‘delighted’ with his goal, and he did well playing up-front.
The draw for the Play-Off takes place on Friday morning at 11:00am, and we’ll have coverage on the website. Celtic, who are seeded for the draw will face one of:
- Astana,
- Qarabag,
- Rijeka,
- Hapoel Be’er Sheva,
- Slavia Prague
Some familiar names there, and a rematch from last year against Hapoel would certainly be interesting.
ON THIS DAY: Only last year we defeated Astana 2-1 in the third round of the Champions League qualifier. In a very nervy game - sounds familiar - a penalty on the stroke of half-time by Leigh Griffiths gave Celtic the lead. Ibraimi equalised and it needed a 92nd minute Moussa Dembele penalty to send Celtic through 3-2 on aggregate.