There were spells in this game when it looked a question of how many Club Brugge fancied winning by. As Cameron Carter-Vickers stroked home an embarrassing own goal to send the Belgians in front, Celtic were in a state of panic.
Celtic have no cause to care that they snatched a point. Indeed, Brugge’s profligacy should be of no concern whatsoever to Brendan Rodgers. This draw, earned courtesy of Daizen Maeda’s glorious strike, leaves Celtic on course to reach the playoff round of the Champions League.
This was an outcome which proved the beauty of football; Brugge’s style and swagger were ultimately matched by Celtic’s desire not to lose. No wonder Rodgers cut a contented figure afterwards, even if his claim that Celtic were the better second‑half team was highly dubious. Eight points from five outings is a strong return.
“We were playing against a really, really good team,” Rodgers said. “I thought the players showed great courage in the second half. We showed a mentality never to quit, to keep going. We have nine points to play for and are still very much on course for where we want to get to.”
Three games had seemingly extinguished years of frustration. Celtic’s thrashing of Slovan Bratislava, a draw against Atalanta and an excellent win against RB Leipzig triggered a sense of Champions League belonging. Seasons where the Scottish champions floundered at this level had suddenly been forgotten; expectations were high for Brugge’s visit. Even Celtic’s 7-1 reverse in Dortmund felt an afterthought before kick-off. Through the new Champions League format – and some fine performances – has come opportunity and a fresh mindset.
Brugge arrived in Glasgow with a perfect understanding of how Celtic had suffocated Leipzig last time out. The Belgian club started strongly, Ferran Jutglà curling narrowly wide inside five minutes. Celtic attacked more in hope than expectation. Jutglà chose to hit the ground rather than fire towards Kasper Schmeichel having outpaced Carter-Vickers to collect a through ball from Hans Vanaken.
Brugge were the more coherent side by a considerable margin during the game’s opening quarter, a matter which owed plenty to Celtic’s malfunctioning midfield. Andreas Skov Olsen was next to flash a shot wide with Schmeichel stranded.
Further Celtic assistance followed. Nicolas Kühn probably should not have been wandering back towards his own goal but will argue he had little choice, given Brugge’s aggressive press. The German passed to Carter‑Vickers, who in turn tried to find Schmeichel. The problem was, Celtic’s Danish goalkeeper was 10 yards away from where Carter-Vickers played the ball. With Schmeichel unable to recover, Carter-Vickers suffered the ignominy of scoring into his own net. If not so serious for Celtic, it would have been a comedic episode. Carter‑Vickers was woefully careless, the outcome painful. After the penalty fiasco against Aston Villa, Brugge are making a habit of benefitting from bizarre Champions League moments. Their lead, though, was fully deserved. Celtic needed the interval to draw breath.
Brugge should have placed daylight between themselves and their hosts with their first attack of the second half. Instead, Schmeichel turned Maxim De Cuyper’s effort wide after the full-back had marauded through on goal.
Brugge had doused the Celtic Park atmosphere. Rodgers had used pre-game media duties to ask that his players utilised the “power” of the stadium. Those in the stands were instead jittery. There was agitation that Celtic could gain no foothold in the tie with an hour played. Anxiety among Brugge’s noisy contingent was only because their side’s leeway felt disproportionate to the dynamic of the game. Skov Olsen should have altered that but blazed over from a wonderful De Cuyper cross.
Celtic made the visitors pay for their wastefulness. Maeda, a hitherto peripheral presence, cut infield before beating Simon Mignolet via the goalkeeper’s left-hand post. There was home disbelief mixed with jubilation. Maeda’s intervention was of stunning quality.
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Jutglà believed he had sent Brugge back in front after Celtic failed to deal with a cross from their right flank. The striker was soon cursing the influence of the VAR, who correctly ruled out the goal for offside. This encounter was testing Brugge’s patience.
Substitutions disrupted the flow of the match. Celtic’s introduction of Adam Idah to spearhead the attack suggested Rodgers had aspirations of taking all three points. Another change was more significant; Paulo Bernardo had stiffened the home midfield. Reo Hatate attempted an outrageous volley that was closer to the corner flag than the goal. Exhausted Celtic made do with parity.
