HE may only have played three competitive matches since making his record-breaking £9 million move from Paris Saint-Germain to Celtic last month, but Odsonne Edouard has already gone a long way towards justifying his sizeable transfer fee.
A packed Parkhead fell eerily silent last night when Rosenborg forged in front early in the first-half of the first leg of the Champions League second qualifying round double header.
The alarming prospect of the Scottish champions failing to make if through to the group stages of Europe’s premier club tournament – an achievement which is worth an estimated £30 million to them – for the third year running appeared a very real one at that juncture.
Fortunately for them, Edouard, with no little help from his fellow Frenchman Olivier Ntcham, responded. Playing up front by himself due to his compatriot Moussa Dembele being sidelined with a hamstring injury, he netted twice, once in either half, to help his side secure a comfortable 3-1 triumph.
Brendan Rodgers’s men have by no means secured a place in the third qualifying round against AEK Athens of Greece next month with this result. But they will be confident of completing the job after such a gutsy fightback and assured all-round performance. If Edouard is available especially.
It was, given the key men who were once again missing in every area of the park, a hugely impressive showing.
Rodgers was forced to field Kristoffer Ajer and Jack Hendry, two players with a combined age of just 43, in the centre of his defence in the absence of the unavailable Dedryck Boyata and Mikael Lustig, injured Marvin Compper and suspended Jozo Simunovic.
While both Ajer and Hendry performed admirably in direct opposition to Nicklas Bentdner, the former Arsenal and Juventus striker, Celtic looked far more fallible at the back than is ordinarily the case in the early stages.
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Rodgers certainly erred on the side of caution with his team selection. He abandoned the three man defence he had used in both legs of the last round against Alashkert of Armenia and reverted to a four man rearguard.
The lesser spotted Cristian Gamboa came in at right back for what was his first appearance in continental competition since his nightmare evening against Bayern Munich in a Champions League group game in Germany last October.
Gamboa had played for Costa Rica in all three of their group games at the World Cup, against Serbia, Brazil and Switzerland, so it was perhaps not too much of a gamble. Certainly, he was not to blame for the opening goal.
It was Hendry who had to hold his hands up and accept responsibility for his side falling behind in the 15th minute and allowing their rivals what could still prove to be an important away goal. He gifted the ball to Mike Jensen inside his own half.
The midfielder fed Bentdner who cut inside and supplied Birger Meling on the edge of the Celtic area. The right back drilled an shot beyond Gordon and into the net before being falling to the turf and being mobbed by his jubilant team mates.
Edging in front was the cue for the Norwegians to drop deeper and their Scottish opponents struggled to unlock their well-organised back line in the opening 45 minutes.
The away team may have been in utter disarray off the park following the controversial sacking of their popular and successful manager Kare Ingebrigsten last week, but on it they were disciplined.
The home team had what looked to be a strong claim for a penalty ignored by Bert Vertenten, the Belgian referee, in the 34th minute after Olivier Ntcham appeared to be brought down by Vegar Hedenstad. But Andre Hansen was hardly tested.
It took the intervention of Scott Sinclair, restored to the starting line-up due to the injury to Dembele, just two minutes before half-time to draw Celtic level. The winger skipped past Hedenstad on the edge of the Rosenborg penalty box and squared the ball to Edouard inside him. His team mate took and touch and then side-footed beyond Hansen.
Less than a minute of the second-half had elapsed when Ntcham put Celtic in front. He picked up the ball from his captain and central midfield partner Scott Brown, produced a drag back that Lubomir Moravcik in his prime would have been proud of as Marius Lundemo tried to close him down and curled a shot beyond Hansen and into the top right corner.
Callum McGregor struck the post with a cross cum shot from the right flank, Gamboa and Hendry both had efforts deflected agonisingly wide and Sinclair and Ntcham both forced fine one-handed saves from Hansen as the hosts took complete control of proceedings.
Read more: Hibernian midfielder John McGinn may have to wait a year to join Celtic
Edouard supplied the all-important third goal in the 75th minute and it was the best of the lot. He ran onto a James Forrest through ball and coolly chipped Hansen. He was a deserved recipient of the Man of the Match award afterwards.
Rodgers also resisted what must have been a strong temptation to start Tom Rogic, who was named in the Celtic squad for the first time since returning from World Cup duty with Australia, just off Edouard. The playmaker came on for Ntcham and looked bright as his side closed out the win professionally.
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