European masterclass

European Masterclass

Celtic 5 - 0 FC Astana

"Celtic have gone through Astana like a blowtorch through butter tonight," Liam McLeod, BBC Radio Scotland



It is nights like last night that make the 'Paradise' nickname feel so apt. Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic side provided the fans with a night or sheer ecstacy, as they demolished Kazakh side Astana 5-0.

Astana are familiar opponents for the Scottish champions, having played them en route to Champions League qualification last summer. Last season's two legged tie was a tight affair, with a draw in Kazakhstan followed by a late 2-1 win at Celtic Park in the return leg.

With injuries in defence, there was much discussion as to who should start beside Simunovic, with Rodgers opting for Nir Bitton. The Israeli is not a natural centre back and had looked shaky in the recent Glasgow derby, when he looked like he had given away a late penalty against Partick Thistle. Rodgers showed faith in the midfielder, which was repaid with a self-assured performance at the back.​

The game was tense in the early stages, with both teams looking for an opening. Early chances fell to Sinclair and Griffiths but both put their attempts wide of the post. Astana passed the ball well but found themselves frustrated trying to breakdown a well drilled Celtic defence.

It wasn't until the 32nd minute that the deadlock was broken. Tom Rogic wove his way through the Astana defence and chipped the ball passed the goalkeeper. The ball looked to be heading wide but the Astana defender poked it in with his foot instead of clearing it, sending the Celtic fans wild.

Just before half time, Sinclair took advantage of a poor back pass from the Astana midfield, surging forward and cooly slotting the ball past the goalkeeper, to double Celtic's lead. Despite some nervous moments, Celtic went in at half time with a comfortable lead.

As the 2nd half began, Astana pushed further forward in search of a vital away goal, but it was Celtic who were to score again, with Sinclair grabbing his second goal of the night to make it 3-0. Bitton's long pass was flicked on by Rogic, which Griffiths received and then played through to Sinclair, who successfully beat the offside trap and hit the ball through the legs of Astana's goalkeeper.

Celtic Park was absolutely rocking but the Hoops weren't finished yet. On 76 minutes, Griffiths again controlled a pass high up the pitch, before playing a reverse pass ahead of James Forrest, who placed his angled shot into the far side netting. Having had an edgy start to the game, Celtic were now in full control, dominating possession and looking confident.

The Astana players looked shell shocked, clearly seeing their Champions League hopes slip away from them and Celtic continued to pile on their misery 2 minutes from time, with Griffiths creating a bit of space for his shot, which was deflected into the net with the shin of Shitov.

It's half time in this two legged tie, but Celtic can safely claim that it's mission complete.

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CELTIC (4-2-3-1) Gordon; Lustig, Simunovic, Bitton, Tierney; Brown, Ntcham; Forrest (Armstrong 82), Rogic (McGregor 63) Sinclair; Griffiths
Not Used: De Vries, Benyu, Ajer, Ralston, Miller

FC ASTANA (4-4-1-1) Mokin; Shitov, Postnikov, Logvinenko (Beysebekov 65), Shomko; Twumasi, Maevski, Kleinheisler, Tomasov (Murtazayev 77); Muzhikov (Grahovac 82), Kabanaga
Not Used: Eric, Anicic, Tagybergen, Maliy.