Leigh Griffiths helps give Celtic commanding lead against Nomme Kalju
Celtic took command of their second Champions League qualifier with a crushing 5-0 first-leg win over Nomme Kalju. Leigh Griffiths marked his return to the starting line-up with a superb free-kick as the striker more than vindicated Neil Lennon’s decision to hand him his first start for eight months after a spell out with depression.
The Scotland international curled into the top corner from almost 30 yards to put Celtic 3-0 up in firsthalf stoppage time following goals from Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie.
Celtic added second-half goals through Christie and Callum McGregor to make next week’s second leg in Estonia little more than a formality.
The Scottish champions will meet CFR Cluj or Maccabi Tel Aviv if they progress to the third qualifying round as expected. The Romanians will take a narrow advantage into the second leg in Israel next week after Billel Omrani’s 22nd-minute strike gave Cluj a 1-0 win.
Dundalk drew 1-1 at home to Qarabag after trailing for most of the game at Oriel Park.
Mahir Emreli gave the Azerbaijani champions a fourth-minute lead before Pat Hoban rewarded a strong Dundalk finish. Hoban headed home from a 78th-minute corner, and Dane Massey and Michael Duffy had late chances to hand Dundalk an advantage going into the second leg.
Red Star Belgrade – European Cup winners in 1991 – claimed a 2-0 firstleg victory over HJK Helsinki and Slovenian champions Maribor beat Sweden’s AIK 2-1. Bate Borisov beat Rosenborg 2-1 at home and Hungarian champions Ferencvaros overcame Malta’s Valletta 3-1, with Italian striker Davide Lanzafame scoring twice.