CELTIC MUST NOW ROLL A DOUBLE SIX TO PROGRESS IN EUROPE

SOME 7,000 Celtic fans spent yesterday afternoon turning George Square green and white. But, last night, the two acres in Glasgow’s east end they cherish so dearly unquestionably belonged to the black shirts of Borussia Monchengladbach.

After the fantasy football witnessed when Manchester City came to town three weeks ago, this was the night that reality bit hard for Brendan Rodgers and his players.

Truthfully, the heights of the performance that saw them capture a point from the English Premier League leaders were never reached here. Not even close.

By full-time, Gladbach were deserving of their margin of victory. Those who had cast them as lambs to the slaughter under the Parkhead lights were given many reasons to reassess their logic.

The Germans may have arrived in Glasgow pointless, depleted and with no form to speak of, but those who felt they might melt in such a white-hot atmosphere were set straight by a nerveless, ice-cool display.

At the midway point in Group C, Celtic find themselves back at the bottom of the section, with visits to Monchengladbach and Manchester bookending the small matter of Barcelona’s trip to Glasgow.

Rodgers’ men aren’t yet out of the running, but they now have the look of a side requiring to roll a double six to get back into the game.

There was no debating the fact that, when the draw was made, this was the fixture circled as the most likely to yield three points that could bring post-Christmas European football into view.

It has almost become a timehonoured tradition for European opposition to arrive in Scotland mired in crisis. That might have been stretching it in the case of Gladbach.

But two wins from six Bundesliga games, sitting ninth in the table and missing veritable stars like Thorgan Hazard and Andreas Christensen through injury, they did carry a hint of vulnerability uncharacteristic of a side that finished fourth in the German top flight last season.

In contrast, Rodgers’ men had been riding the crest of a wave of late. The naming of the same starting line-up which drew with City came as a surprise to no one.

This was no night for stragglers and latecomers. By the time the sides had emerged to a riot of noise and colour, the surrounding streets were empty and there was not a seat to be had.

‘Paradise — a Ballroom of Remembrance’ proclaimed the customary banner in the section occupied by the Green Brigade, a nod to the iconic Barrowlands just a short hop along the Gallowgate.

The expectation was of a night of entertainment to rival anything staged under the old venue’s famous glitter balls down the years but, by the end, it was not a memory to be saved for posterity.

There was no sense of either side feeling their way into the game. The intensity of Celtic’s pressing has been noteworthy under Rodgers but, by heavens, the Germans’ willingness to chase and harry in packs was equally as remarkable. Time on the ball was a luxury no defender on the field had.

For all that Andre Schubert, the Gladbach head coach, had exuded a calm disposition before the game, there was a growing whiff of desperation about his side’s predicament after failing to take anything from their opening two matches.

They certainly went at Celtic from the off. Kolo Toure was forced into a timely block to thwart Jonas Hofmann, while only a fine double save by Craig Gordon kept Ibrahima Traore at bay.

Scott Sinclair did force Yann Sommer to spill one angled drive and Nir Bitton went close with a free-kick, but penetrating the typically efficient Germans’ defence initially proved a tall order.

Gordon was much the busier of the custodians, producing timely saves to deny Hofmann and Andre Hahn.

Throughout it all, there was a nervousness to Celtic they just hadn’t exhibited against City. Long periods without the ball didn’t help.

Even Kieran Tierney was prone to uncharacteristic lapses. He joined Christoph Kramer in the book for a bone-crunching foul on Traore towards the end of the first period and could have no complaint.

Rodgers would have been pleased to make it to the break level. Sinclair’s lack of composure may have prevented him converting Tom Rogic’s geometry-defying pass shortly before Tasos Sidiropoulos put the whistle to his lips, but there was no question it had belonged to the visitors.

The raucous away support were already in the mood to party, but the lighting of a batch of flares at the outset of the second half is unlikely to go down well with UEFA.

Sinclair might have silenced them but his failure to properly connect with Mikael Lustig’s cross was vital.

The nature of the subsequent concession will have pained Rodgers.

Toure, so far impeccable in a Celtic shirt, chose the worst possible moment to slip up. His attempt at shepherding the ball out of play paid no heed to Hahn’s tenacity. Lars Stindl lashed the scraps through Gordon’s legs.

The Scots tried all they could to restore parity. Down the flanks with pace. Through the middle with precision. Even the odd up-and-under. Callum McGregor, Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts were all cast from the bench within 10 minutes. But you sensed dynamite would have been required to unnerve their opponents.

Toure’s night did not get any better. His error allowed Hahn to lash home the second and render the last 13 minutes something of a formality. As the fans drifted into the calm night, a sense of new-found reality was palpable.