CELTIC SPOT ON TO OPEN CAMPAIGN WITH BATTLING DRAW IN FRANCE
Christie earns Celtic a deserved point as referee sparks anger
ON a night when their emotions were toyed with by all manner of penalty drama, and more besides, Celtic’s lingering feeling should be one of increased confidence about progressing from Europa League Group E.
Neil Lennon had claimed it was there to be won. That, despite his i mmense respect f or the opposition to be faced between now and mid-December, there was no gulf in class to overcome. What unfolded inside a passionate, raucous Roazhon Park certainly backed up that view.
Celtic were well worth their point, riding out stoppage time after the controversial quick-fire dismissal of substitute Vakoun Issouf Bayo. Their reward could — or perhaps should — have been even more.
They conceded a first-half spotkick caused by a rash challenge from Kristoffer Ajer, yet refused to let the wider merits of their performance crumble as a result.
Ryan Christie was then denied a clear penalty early in the second half but the Scotland international did finally level from 12 yards after James Forrest had been toppled inside the area.
Erratic Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez was never far from the centre of attention in a compelling game, leaving Lennon to lament the absence of VAR in this competition. Just as much focus should, though, be applied to the numerous positives for the Parkhead club.
Christi e was hi g h a mong them, offering a creative spark to accompany his ruthless — if delayed — penalty strike. Just behind him in midfield, Callum McGregor and Scott Brown dictated stretches of play. At the back, Christopher Jull i en made a number of excellently timed interventions.
Missing out on the Champions League was an immense blow in terms of finance and prestige but this is a level where Scotland’s champions look more comfortable.
With CFR Cluj recording a shock win over Lazio, Celtic have a chance to place themselves in a promising position when they meet the Romanians in a revenge mission in Glasgow on October 3.
Ahead of this opening assignment, Lennon had spoken of the motivation his French contingent could derive f rom returning to home soil.
It wasn’t enough for Olivier Ntcham to earn a starting place, though, meaning the line-up was identical to that which made it five Premiership wins out of five at Hamilton last weekend.
The challenge here was very different. Perched on the banks of the Vilaine river, this stadium is home to a team who spent £18million to sign Brazilian winger Raphinha from Sporting Lisbon earlier this month. The 22-year-old started in a supporting role to highly rated Senegal striker M’Baye Niang, passed fit after missing t he weekend derby stalemate against Brest.
Celtic took some reassurance from a solid start. Willing to engage their Ligue 1 opponents high up the field, Lennon’s positive strategy was rewarded with a strong share of possession.
Rennes looked a little unsettled. Misplaced passes pockmarked the contributions of both sides, yet Celtic were the quicker to find some sense of rhythm.
A first hint of threat surfaced when Forrest dug out a cross that fell just behind Odsonne Edouard. The France Under- 21s striker couldn’t quite adjust his feet enough to get any accuracy on the attempted hitch-kick.
Then, 20 minutes in, came a lovely episode of slick and composed passing, with Christie eventually rolling in the overlapping Boli Bolingoli. His zipped cross through the six-yard box was dummied by Edouard at the near post before Mohamed Elyounoussi narrowly failed to connect on the slide, with Rennes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy exposed.
Bolingoli’s attacking attributes were evident then but there remains an erratic element to his defensive work. A misplaced header was seized upon by Raphinha ahead of a deep cross headed hopelessly off target by Clement Grenier. The elegant playmaker would far rather the ball had dropped a couple of feet lower.
It was for a foul on his rival No 8 that Brown earned a yellow card from Sanchez. By then, Edouard was already in the book after ending a mercurial dribble with a less skilful dive inside the area.
It told a story that it took 31 minutes for Fraser Forster to be forced into a first meaningful save, parrying away a powerful left-foot thump from Raphinha after the big-money buy had skipped inside Bolingoli. Celtic’s plan looked to be working well. At least until it was blown apart by an act of rashness at odds with so much of their earlier performance.
Ajer already had a fistful of Niang’s jersey before diving into a challenge and hauling the frontman to the ground as he drove into the area. It couldn’t even be excused as necessary. Wide of goal on the right, Niang would surely have been forced to cross. Instead, he was given the opportunity to score from 12 yards when Sanchez awarded an inevitable penalty.
A stuttering r un- up f oxed Forster as Niang sent the keeper the wrong way.
Lennon must have been deeply frustrated. Eight minutes from the break and a largely self-inflicted blow had undermined Celtic’s cause. After regrouping at the interval, his players were charged with finding a response.
It should have come via a second penalty after 51 minutes. Christie won a race against Joris Gnagnon to reach a loose ball and was toppled inside the angle of the area. Sanchez was unmoved, however, leaving a sense of grievance to further fire up the visitors.
Remarkably, i t only took a further eight minutes for that feeling to be assuaged. The Spanish official couldn’t fail to miss a trip from Rennes captain Damien Da Silva on Forrest and Celtic belatedly had their spot-kick.
Christie stepped forward with a crisp, left-footed conversion that didn’t give Mendy a prayer. It was a clinical way to dispense justice.
Sanchez continued to bemuse, mind you. A brilliant Forster save on a Grenier free-kick went down as a goal-kick, much to the anger of the home players.
Lennon had already replaced the sluggish-looking Elyounoussi with Ntcham by the time Bolingoli was forced to retire hurt. Not for the first time, Jonny Hayes was asked to step in as an auxiliary left-back.
A full-blooded challenge from him left its mark on Hamari Traore but Rennes’ appeals for yet another penalty were rightly ignored.
Bayo’s case wasn’t so simple. On for Edouard in the 84th minute, an initial yellow card for a crude aerial challenge on Da Silva was richly merited. His second booking came in the 91st minute after a foot in on Mendy that prompted some excessive writhing from the keeper despite minimal contact.
Sanchez initially waved play on but, amid continued protests from the home side, eventually decided to act. That injected additional stress into the remaining four minutes but Celtic saw it through. RENNES ( 4-1-4-1): Mendy; Traore, Da Silva, Gnagnon, Morel; Martin (Camavinga 72); Raphinha, Bourigeaud, Grenier (Siebatcheu 88), Tait (Del Castillo 72); Niang. Subs not used: Salin, Siliki, Del Castillo, Hunou, Gelin. Booked: Raphinha, Traore. CELTIC (4-2-3-1): Forster; Elhamed, Ajer, Jullien, Bolingoli (Hayes 69); Brown, McGregor; Forrest, Christie, Elyounoussi (Ntcham 57); Edouard (Bayo 84). Subs not used: Gordon, Bauer, Morgan, Rogic. Booked: Brown, Christie, Edouard. Sent off: Bayo. Man of the match: Ryan Christie. Referee: Jose Maria Sanchez (Spa). Attendance: 27,026.