CELTIC 1 ZENIT ST PETERSBURG 0 Celts reach the Zenith against big-spending Russians with showofpower and finesse...

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE

AAT CELTIC PARK T one stage last night as the ball spun high into the night sky and seemed to hang up there with Kristoffer Ajer suspended beneath, there was the briefest of seconds to ponder Celtic’s particular alchemy with European football.

If it has seemed like a throw of the dice this season in Europe with regard to which Celtic side was going to turn up, there was little ambiguity last night. From the opening pulsating minutes, this game had the hallmark of one of those robust, atmospheric nights so often witnessed when Celtic and European football collide.

The billing before the game was for Moussa Dembele but the headlines belonged to Callum McGregor. The midfielder worked his socks off throughout but his goal was not owing to industry nor endeavour but skill and craft, a compliment that could be levelled at Celtic’s performance in its entirety.

Zenit might not belong in the same bracket as some of Europe’s elite but a team who can spend £77million finetuning their squad is not to be dismissed – and nor should the manner in which this result was orchestrated.

Aggressive and purposeful, Celtic had an air of authority about them as they dictated the tempo and took the game to their Russian visitors.

Gone was the timidity and tentativeness that was evident in Celtic’s December European outing against Anderlecht and in its place was a more bullish, street-wise side.

If this season has been painful for the most part in a bruising but lucrative Champions League campaign, last night’s performance was a reminder of what Celtic are capable of conjuring under the bright lights when they go toeto-toe with Continental opposition.

THE Europa League is the fizzy wine next to the champers of the Champions League but still there was nothing flat about the way Celtic went at Zenit St Petersburg from the off – or how a sell-out crowd responded to a spirited display.

Brendan Rodgers is right in his depiction of how the landscape changes on the continent with regards to spending have shut the door on Celtic being able to harbour hopes of advancement in any European competition – given the disparate resources.

But the display against Zenit served as a reminder that they will not relinquish their aspirations meekly.

If a glance at the team sheet had indicated a more tempered approach to the game than the usual front-foot selections this term, that was set aside with the

Aggressive and purposeful, Celtic had an air of authority about them

way that Celtic went about their business.

With the industrious McGregor deployed just behind Moussa Dembele and James Forrest and Kieran Tierney probing and pushing on either flank, Celtic spent the opening 45 minutes opening up the Zenit defence.

In the middle of the park was Olivier Ntcham whose touch and grace on the ball belie an ability to power his way through a midfield.

Celtic’s only frustration as the whistle blew for the break was their inability to convert the chances their set-up produced.

Dembele was guilty of scorning two of them as he read one chance too late, and went too early for another, and the fear that lurked nervously in the stadium was the old adage that when on top of the game, the ball needs to go in the net.

TIERNEY’S long-term contract at Celtic offers the club some security but the Scotland internationalist will always invite attention with performances like the one he produced last night.

If Celtic were dominant throughout, Tierney epitomised much of that, particularly in an opening period in which he had his opposite number, Igor Smolnikov twisting and turning and glancing nervously over his shoulder.

Against a team who scored more goals than any other side in the Europa League group stage, Celtic’s make-shift defence was eyed with some suspicion before this one. Rodgers’s wish for a clean sheet raised a few eyebrows given the porous nature of Celtic’s backline this term as well as the lack of options due to a congested treatment room.

With Ajer’s nervy performance against Astana this summer in the Champions