NEIL LENNON’S APPOINTMENT VINDICATED AS CELTIC TOP GROUP WITH GAME TO SPARE
When Celtic set out on their journey in this qualification group in Rennes, perhaps not even their manager would have foreseen the ease by which his players would prevail as winners of the section.
With the Ligue 1 side going into that match off the back of a win over PSG a couple of weeks prior, and with Serie A giants Lazio also in the group along with Cluj, the side that had knocked them out of the Champions League, qualifying seemed a tall enough order. To do it is such a fashion would have seemed fanciful.
In the end though, they coasted through as group winners, picking up historic back-to-back wins over Lazio in the process, and Neil Lennon now has the luxury of resting as many players as he likes for the trip to Cluj in a couple of weeks’ time. He even did it during the game, with captain Scott Brown getting a rare breather.
He will be more than happy with that, just as he will be hugely satisfied with the level of performance his team are churning out week after week on both the home and European fronts.
The many detractors of the decision to reappoint him as manager will surely have reconsidered their own positions in the process.
LEWIS MORGAN IMPRESSED IN STRIKER’S ROLE
There was just under 60,000 sets of eyebrows raised as the Celtic team lined up for kick-off with winger Morgan occupying the role as the focal point of the home attack, but after taking a little while to find his feet, he showed that it might not have been as strange a move from Neil Lennon as it first appeared.
A lovely Celtic move ended with James Forrest cutting the ball back for Morgan to arrive and sweep home into the bottom corner for his first goal at Celtic Park.
The absence of Odsonne Edouard was the talk of the steamie, of course, and the fact that Morgan had to be deployed up front in the first place drew into sharp focus the lack of depth that Celtic currently have in attack. Leigh Griffiths still wasn’t fit enough to start, and Vakoun Issouf Bayo remains sidelined too, with Lennon admitting that bringing in a striker is his top priority in January.
Still, Morgan showed enough here to prove he is an able stand-in if the situation demands it.
GREG TAYLOR AND JAMES FORREST COMBINATION HAS REAL POTENTIAL
The first time that Celtic supporters got a proper glimpse of what Taylor was capable of since his move to the club came in Scotland’s matches against Cyprus and Kazakhstan, with the full-back striking up an instant rapport with club teammate Forrest down the left.
They showed the understanding that has been developed between the pair again in the second half of the win over Livingston last weekend, and starting together here, they were a real threat once more.
The one-touch play that led to the opening goal was a case in point, with Taylor quickly shunting the ball down the line to Forrest, who in turn cut it back for Morgan to finish.
FRASER FORSTER EXCELLED ON THE BIG STAGE YET AGAIN
There just seems to be something about these European nights that bring out the best in the big keeper, as Lazio will no doubt testify.
He was hardly overworked here, but he showed his worth once more with an incredible point-blank save from Romain Del Castillo in the second half, and then got the fortune he deserved with Theoson Siebatcheu hitting the post with rebound.
He followed that up with another impressive save from Christ-Emmanuel Maouassa soon afterwards. He was blameless for the late Adrien Hunou goal that blotted his clean sheet.
RETURN OF INJURY VICTIMS A TIMELY BOOST
With Celtic already cruising after Ryan Christie’s second before the break, it was the perfect time for Neil Lennon to reintroduce Mikey Johnston after a spell out through injury, and the youngster showed no signs of ring-rust as he bagged the third goal on the night after a clever one-two with Olivier Ntcham.
Celtic are very well stocked in the wide positions, but with Mohamed Elyounoussi currently out through injury and facing a race against time to be fit for next week’s Betfred Cup final against Rangers, it is a good time for a fresh Johnston to come back into the mix and bolster Celtic’s options from the bench.
Leigh Griffiths also got another runout late on along with Nir Bitton, while Ntcham got 90 minutes under his belt too. With the dead rubber against Cluj to come, there may be another opportunity for these returning players to stake a claim.
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