Celtic start Europa campaign with battling draw

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Red Star Belgrade 1 - 1 Celtic

Celtic earned a hard-fought point in their Europa League opener against Red Star Belgrade in a contest that rarely sparked into life.

Author | Sean M

Stadium | Stadion Rajko Mitić

Champions League | Red Star Belgrade v Celtic | View from the stands
Celtic fans watch on in the background

Second-half goals from Kelechi Iheanacho and Marko Arnautovic ensured the spoils were shared, though neither side offered much to suggest they would have belonged at Europe’s top table.

Iheanacho, reunited with Brendan Rodgers after joining late in the transfer window, replaced the ineffective Daizen Maeda at the interval and justified the change almost immediately. The former Manchester City and Leicester forward latched on to a clever pass from summer signing Benjamin Nygren and finished calmly past goalkeeper Matheus, moments after squandering a simpler chance from close range.

Red Star, however, had threatened before the break. Bruno Duarte struck the side netting and later rattled the crossbar in a first half where the hosts looked the likelier to score. Their reward came after the interval when Arnautovic, who had promised to play for Red Star in honour of his late mentor Sinisa Mihajlovic, scrambled home from close range amid a crowded penalty area.

Both clubs might have wished for Champions League football, yet the standard on show suggested the Europa League is where they truly belong.

Celtic grind out a scrappy draw

Champions League | Red Star Belgrade v Celtic | Hostile atmosphere
Home fans created a hostile atmosphere

For much of the first hour in Belgrade, echoes of Celtic’s blunt showing against Kairat Almaty in this season’s Champions League play-off came to mind.

Brendan Rodgers’ side were sluggish, short of ideas and found themselves pinned back by a Red Star team that squandered as many chances as they created.

Cameron Carter-Vickers twice threatened to relieve the pressure, only for his efforts to fizzle out in a manner that summed up a drab opening half. Daizen Maeda, restricted to just eight touches before being withdrawn at the interval, made way for Kelechi Iheanacho and the change finally injected some attacking purpose.

The visitors produced a flurry of openings before breaking through, though their lead did not last, and the equaliser followed swiftly. From there, Celtic retreated again, seemingly content to settle for a point.

This was an intimidating stage, and Rodgers admitted afterwards the result was “a nice first step”, though the performance did little to suggest Celtic are ready for a deeper run in Europe.

Location: Ljutice Bogdana 1a, Beograd 11040, Serbia

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