Celtic and Legia Warsaw served up an entertaining send-off for Artur Boruc as the cult hero keeper brought the curtain down on his career. Ange Postecoglou 's side led 2-0 at the interval in Poland but Legia rallied after the break to ensure Boruc didn't bow out in defeat to his old club.
A dazzling display from Reo Hatate lit up the first period as the revitalised Japanese midfielder helped himself to a goal and an assist before taking his leave at the break. His strike, volleyed home wonderfully from Callum McGregor's lofted ball, was the highlight of an impressive first-half display from Postecoglou's side.
Hatate then turned provider with a cute pass that left Daizen Maeda with a simple finish. But a drop in intensity and a raft of substitutions allowed Legia to gain a foothold and they fought back via goals from Maciej Rosołek and Josue Pesqueira. Man of the hour Boruc enjoyed an eventful 45 minutes in which he showed little has changed down the years. The 42-year-old was keen to build Legia's play from the back and produced a brilliant trademark save to deny James Forrest.
He made way at the interval but not before stopping for a final goodbye to the Legia fans, who turned out in their droves for a fond farewell to the enigmatic veteran. They and a section of Celtic supporters were treated to a keenly contested affair in blazing Warsaw heat.
Alexandro Bernabei was handed a chance to impress and he found himself with his work cut out in the early minutes as Legia attempted to break through their visitors down the flanks. A cross-field pass caught the left-back by surprise, the ball was worked back to Josue and his delightful cross really should have been turned in at the back post.
Legia started with an impressiveness but really should've fallen behind when Matt O'Riley carved them open to feed James Forrest - but his left-footed shot was brilliantly saved by Boruc when a goal looked certain. The man of the hour was left with no chance just minutes later, however, as Hatate swivelled to smash home McGregor's sumptuous pass as it dropped over his shoulder.
The goal settled Celtic into proceedings and the opportunities began to flow. O'Riley's sweeping shot clipped the post before McGregor did the same with a low drive from distance. The high press then forced a mistake upon which Daizen Maeda pounced upon, but his finish was poor as he zipped through one on one with Boruc.
Celtic were largely suffocating their hosts with their hunger to win the ball back but there was still the odd moment of defensive concern when Legia did manage to break. There was joy to be had from Bernabei and Anthony Ralston in the full-back areas but the Poles were let down by poor final passes and wasteful finishing.
They were soon made to pay as Celtic cut through at pace to grab a second before the break. Stephen Welsh fizzed a pass into Hatate and he turned to slip Maeda in behind to finish past Boruc.
Postecoglou rung the changes during an interval that also Boruc make way with a smile having clearly enjoyed his first-half outing. On came Scott Bain, Kyogo, Josip Juranovic, Greg Taylor, Jota, Yosuke Ideguchi and David Turnbull.
The new faces barely got a kick before Legia pulled one back, a simple punt upfield from the keeper somehow managed to tie Cameron Carter-Vickers in knots and he was eased aside by Rosolek who then fired beyond Bain.
Celtic struggled to find the rhythm and intensity of the first 45 and, when it arrived, Legia's equaliser had been cards. Still, it was a delightful finish from their skipper Josue as he controlled with his chest to volley low into the bottom corner from outside the area.
As the changes kept coming, the life slowly fizzled out of proceedings until an emotional Boruc, appearing to hold back the tears, was reintroduced with a guard of honour from his Legia team-mates.
3 talking points
Farewell to Boruc
It's been 12 years since Artur Boruc departed Glasgow but it's testament to the depth of his impact on the green half of the city that the club were only too happy to travel across Europe for his big night. Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson marked the occasion by handing over a gift to the club hero ahead of kick-off.
The big keeper was idolised during his eventful five years at Parkhead and that affinity has not been diluted by the passage of time. There was a lively contingent of Celtic fans among Legia's legions to pay tribute to Boruc as he bows out of the game. While he's fondly remembered for being a bit of a maverick figure, it's easy to forget how good a keeper he was.
And he showed those instincts never leave you with a trademark reaction save from Forrest early on. The winger's left-footed shot looked bound for the bottom corner until Boruc stuck out a leg to turn it past the post.
Hatate hotting up
Where O'Riley stole the show last week against Banik Ostrava, this time it was Hatate's turn to sizzle in the early evening heat. The Japanese midfielder turned in a sublime first-half performance that very much suggests he's refreshed and ready to go again.
Following his January arrival with a full J-League campaign already in his legs, Hatate burned brightly before hitting a bit of a burnout in the latter weeks of the campaign. But his quality could not have been more obvious and the general consensus is he'd benefit more than most from a few weeks' rest.
And that assessment may just prove accurate, on tonight's evidence. Hatate's brilliant volleyed goal was a delight to witness and he picked a killer pass to set up Maeda for the second.
Defensive issues to sort?
These fixtures are all about ironing out kinks as well as building fitness but it's unfair to say Celtic do have the odd defensive lapse which could be cut out. A raft of changes at the interval can be blamed to a point, given such upheaval won't happen in competitive fixtures.
But even before Postecoglou turned to his bench, Legia could have hurt Celtic had they been more efficient in the final third. They did eventually score with the simplest of punts up-field and that one was more a rare aberration from Carter-Vickers than anything else.
The home side did, however, target Celtic in the full-back areas with a reasonable degree of success, albeit without being able to apply the finishing touch. New signing Bernabei on the left still looks to be finding his feet and had a handful of shaky moments.
