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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Graeme Young

Cluj set up Celtic Champions League showdown as Romanians battle past Maccabi Tel Aviv

Celtic will face Cluj in their Champions League third qualifying tie after the Romanians edged past Maccabi Tel Aviv to set up a showdown with the Hoops.

The Liga 1 champions are the unseeded danger men everyone wants to avoid and earned a 2-2 draw to go through 3-2 on aggregate.

Celtic will likely travel to Transylvania next Wednesday for their Euro showdown but will be wary of the threat Dan Petrescu's side pose.

It wasn't all plain sailing for Cluj as Maccabi took an early thread through former Motherwell and Aberdeen striker Nick Blackwell.

But the hosts joy was brief as Petrescu's battlers equalised in the 18th minute as Juan Emmanuel Culio fired home from the penalty spot.

(AFP/Getty Images)

And Mario Rondon helped Cluj into a commanding aggregate lead as he found the back of the net before the break.

The advantage on the night didn't last long as Yonatan Cohen pulled his side level on the night but goal wasn't enough to secure a comeback.

Meanwhile, Celtic strolled to a win over Nomme Kalju as Neil Lennon was able to rest star pair James Forrest and Callum McGregor during the cruise in Tallinn.

The 7-0 aggregate triumph means Celtic are just two rounds away from reaching the Champions League group stage for the third time in the last four seasons.

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