Scott Brown celebrates victory by offering some hard-faced words of, erm, encouragement to one of the Zenit players. He had a superb game, as did most of the Celtic players. They played with maturity, composure and class, and fully deserved the orgiastic high of Callum McGregor’s late goal. It’ll be tough next week but Celtic have a big chance of reaching the last 16. Thanks for your company, goodnight!
Full time: Celtic 1-0 Zenit St Petersburg
Peep peep! What an excellent night this has been for Celtic.
90+2 min A silly foul from Edouard gives Zenit a free-kick just past the halfway line. Paredes curls it forward and Forrest clears. That might be it.
90 min Two minutes of added time.
89 min Celtic are keeping Zenit at arms length without too much trouble. There is still a lot to do, because Zenit will play much better at home, but this would be a fine result.
87 min Kranevitter, beaten by a lovely piece of skill from Brown, drags his man down and is booked.
86 min That goal has roused Zenit, who are pushing for an equaliser. But Celtic are defending solidly, as they have all night.
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85 min Lustig is booked. None of the 48 players on either side who have been booked will miss next week’s second leg. But I suspect a few of them will end up missing the first leg of the last 16, whichever team gets through.
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84 min The excellent Dembele, who has worked so hard up front on his own, is replaced by Odsonne Edouard. I think he was booked for leaving the field too slowly, which is a bit harsh.
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83 min Brown and Paredes are both booked for an exchange of unpleasantries.
80 min Celtic deserve that goal - even if it came when the players and crowd were as flat as they had been all night.
What a spectacular finish! Musonda, found on the left by Dembele, lobbed a clever angled pass into the area to find McGregor in a bit of space. He took it on the chest while backpedalling and then, from a tight angle on the right edge of the six-yard box, slammed a rising half-volley that flew into the net off the underside of the bar. Pick that out!
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GOAL! Celtic 1-0 Zenit (McGregor 78)
The substitute Musonda has made a goal for McGregor!
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76 min Musonda is flattened by Smolnikov, who is deservedly booked.
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74 min A dangerous headed cross from Kokorin almost reaches Zabolotny, with Ajer stretching to concede a corner. Paredes swings it out and Tierney heads clear.
74 min Kouassi is off! He’s replaced by Charly Musonda.
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73 min Kouassi is booked for a foul on Smolnikov.
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71 min Scott Brown harasses Kokorin into conceding a corner. Ntcham’s delivery has been poor all night. This one is much better and Lunev punches clear under pressure from Simunovic, who is penalised for breathing the same air as the keeper.
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70 min Celtic are starting to get frustrated, both with the lack of a goal and some streetwise timewasting tactics from Zenit.
68 min An ambitious long-range volley from Paredes goes miles wide.
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64 min The longer this stays 0-0, the more Celtic will fear a sucker punch. In the meantime, Criscito is booked for a foul on Kouassi.
62 min A double change for Zenit: Kranevitter and Driussi replace Rigoni and Kuzyaev.
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61 min Kouassi’s wobbling long-range strike is pushed away by Lunev. It was straight at him but moving awkwardly in the air, which is why he didn’t risk trying to catch it.
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60 min Rigoni is okay to continue, at least until his next 50/50 with Scott Brown.
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59 min Rigoni is down after a strong but fair tackle from Simunovic.
58 min Celtic are back on top after a slow start to the second half. They have been much the better team in this game.
56 min Ntcham is booked for a late tackle on Erokhin.
56 min Ntcham curls a lovely pass out to Forrest on the right. He comes infield, zig-zags past Criscito and drills a low a shot that is crucially blocked by Mammana.
54 min Another opportunity for Celtic! When Zenit lost the ball, Celtic broke quickly and Tierney clipped a fine crossfield pass to Kouassi. He controlled it with his neck as it bounced up, but then just overhit a fairly routine through ball to McGregor.
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53 min This is Zenit’s best spell of possession in the match. And thus far they have done precisely bugger all with it.
50 min It’s been a slow start to the half from both sides. Zenit’s performance has been so sluggish that it has a 1-0 away win written all over it.
47 min I got Celtic’s formation wrong in the first half. It’s actually a 3-1-4-1-1, with wing-backs and a diamond midfield. And that’s the last word I’ll say on the matter!
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46 min Peep peep! Zenit begin the second half.
Half-time reading
Half-time pluggery
“Evening, Bob,” says Mac Millings. “For those of your many readers who feel that nostalgia’s not what it used to be, might I recommend the mighty Nessun Dorma podcast? Many of the finest episodes feature your learnèd self, and the most recent one, on Graham Taylor’s Watford, features me. Wait, where are you all going...?”
Half time: Celtic 0-0 Zenit
Peep peep! That was a cautiously encouraging half for Celtic, who created a lot of half-chances and, with the exception of one very dangerous Zenit attack, kept the back door bolted. The dream scenar of a win and a clean sheet is certainly achievable. See you in 10 minutes for the second half.
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43 min Zabolotny shoves Scott Brown over off the ball. They may or may not meet in the tunnel in a few minutes’ time.
42 min Tactically speaking (and really, should one ever speak any other way?) Celtic look set up to win the game 1-0. In that sense it’s been a good half, because they have played with a lot of control and created plenty of half-chances.
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40 min Forrest’s deflected shot spins behind for yet another Celtic corner. It’s punched away by Lunev.
39 min A much better corner from Ntcham is headed clear at the far post by a Zenit player, okay?
38 min This is a terrific spell for Celtic, whose increased tempo has rattled Zenit. Lunev demonstrates that with some sloppy goalkeeping, conceding a corner from a cross that was going behind for a goalkick.
37 min Celtic have played with impressive defensive control so far. Zenit have had only one notable attack, when de Vries made that vital save.
36 min Kuzyaev is booked for something or other.
35 min Another opportunity for Celtic! Tierney, on the left, flashes a dangerous low cross towards the near post, where Dembele can’t quite sort his feet out. The ball goes straight between his legs and across the face of goal. In Dembele’s defence, the cross from Tierney was fractionally behind him and hit with a lot of pace.
33 min Lovely play from McGregor, who flips the ball over Paredes’ head on the halfway line and puts Dembele clear in the inside-left channel. He moves into the area and then tries to come back inside Mammana onto his right foot. It’s the wrong decision and Mammana uses his body well before clearing the danger.
31 min McGregor and Forrest combine neatly on the right, and then McGregor fizzes a beautiful low ball right across the face of the goal. Both Dembele and Tierney were on their heels and missed what would have been an open goal.
30 min It’s a poor free-kick, which hits the wall and goes behind for a corner. Celtic’s delivery from wide positions has been poor tonight, and nothing comes of the corner.
29 min Forrest scoots infield from the right and is hoofed up in the air like a balloon by Kokorin. Free-kick to Celtic, to be taken by Ntcham...
28 min Zabolotny dives to win a free-kick on the right-wing. It’s curled in and claimed well under pressure by de Vries.
27 min It’s an interesting, slightly cagey game. Celtic have been the better side and are playing with controlled aggression, but Zenit have had the clearest chance.
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26 min “Hi Rob,” says Phil Grey. “Am I right in thinking there could be 6 (six) Premier League teams in the Champions League next season if Arsenal win the Europa League and let’s say for example Liverpool win the Champions League but finish outside the top 4?”
I was wondering about this the other day. I think so, though there may be some small print to cater for such eventualities and prevent Europe being overwhelmed by English swine.
25 min Ntcham’s looping cross from the right deflects to McGregor, whose volley is deflected behind for a corner.
22 min Scott Brown tries some fancy footwork on the right. Throw-in to Zenit.
21 min Forrest is flattened by Kuzyaev, who is a little lucky not to be booked.
20 min The possession score is Celtic 68-32 Zenit.
19 min That double chance was a warning of how dangerous Zenit can be, and after a slow start they are beginning to pass the ball with more confidence.
17 min Tierney is beating Smonikov with ease on the left. Celtic are playing an interesting formation, almost with a diamond midfield and a right-winger in Forrest. Tierney is doing the work of two men, albeit with support from Ntcham, who is playing on the left of that diamond.
16 min A fine dummy from Dembele almost allows McGregor to burst clear. Dembele looks sharp so far.
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14 min De Vries makes a crucial save and Tierney clears off the line in the same attack! Criscito’s wonderful low cross from the left was steered towards goal by Zabolotny six yards out. De Vries spread himself to make a vital save with his body, and Tierney was well positioned to kick the follow-up off the line.
13 min Celtic’s high press brings them another decent chance. Kouassi wins the ball just outside the Zenit area and finds McGregor, whose low shot from 20 yards is a bit tame and too close to Lunev.
12 min Brendan Rodgers will be really pleased with this start. Celtic have had most of the ball without looking reckless or leaving themselves exposed.
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10 min Zenit have their first decent attack, which culminates in their first corner. Nothing happens.
8 min Ntcham almost gives Celtic the lead! The chance came from a good high press by Forrest, who half-blocked an attempted clearance. The ball was headed towards Dembele, who turned it on cleverly for Ntcham, and he dragged a first-time effort just wide from 15 yards.
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5 min A good break from Tierney, whose lofted cross skims off the head of Forrest and is miscontrolled by Dembele, who had to turn and stretch away from goal on the edge of the area.
4 min Zenit have started slowly, happy to sit behind the ball and ease into their first competitive match since December.
3 min It’s been a purposeful start from Celtic, with some snappy passing. Ntcham’s cross is half cleared to Tierney, whose snapshot is deflected behind. Ntcham’s corner is a poor one.
1 min Peep peep! Celtic kick off from left to right. They are in green-and-white hoops; Zenit are in blue.
Before the teams emerge from the tunnel, there’s the usual pre-match rendition of YNWA. It’s stirring stuff, and it would have been even louder had one bespectacled chap - yep, you - joined in rather than munched determinedly on his fingernails.
“Evening Rob,” says a chipper Simon McMahon. “The imminent appointment of Alex McLeish as Scotland manager is in no way a retrograde step. No way. Nor does it mean that there were no better candidates available who were willing to take the job. No sir. Some might call it desperation, blind panic even. Not me. Time for some light relief I think, you can always rely on this Celtic defence for that …”
An email!
“Evening, Rob,” says Mike Cormack. “Can you or any readers tell us how much Zenit have been spending under Mancini? I’m assuming he was lured there with the promise of cash to spend, but I unfortunately don’t keep up with Russian football.”
Thankfully for you and everyone else, I decided last summer to devote my life to the study of transfers made by Zenit St Petersburg. They’ve spent around £70m under Mancini, most of it on Argentinians.
Brendan Rodgers speaks!
We want a really positive result to take to Russia next week. [On the team selection] At this level you have to have balance between defence and attack, but we’ve got enough technical players who can keep the ball and score goals. It’s a brilliant opportunity for us to make a mark on this competition.
A bit of the old breaking news
Alex McLeish is the new Scotland manager!
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The teams
Scott Sinclair is left out against his old manager, with Callum McGregor replacing him. Eboue Kouassi also comes in for Charly Musonda.
Celtic (3-1-4-1-1) de Vries; Lustig, Ajer, Simunovic; Brown; Forrest, Kouassi, Ntcham, Tierney; McGregor; Dembele.
Substitutes: Bain, Hendry, Sinclair, Rogic, Edouard, Miller, Musonda.
Zenit (4-3-3) Lunev, Mevlja, Mammana, Criscito, Smolnikov; Erokhin, Kuzyaev, Paredes; Rigoni, Kokorin, Zabolotny.
Substitutes: Lodygin, Terentyev, Poloz, Kranevitter, Driussi, Zhirkov, Ivanovic.
Referee Damir Skomina.
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Preamble
Hello there. Forget fear: for all connected with Celtic, it’s time to embrace the thrill of the unknown. They are too good for Scotland and not good enough for the Champions League – but nobody really knows where they stand in the Europa League. That’s why there is such excitement going into this tie against crack Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg.
Zenit, managed by Roberto Mancini, have scored more goals than anyone else in this season’s Europa League. But they haven’t played a competitive game since December and tanked badly in their domestic league before the winter break. Celtic will hope Zenit’s rust is more of a factor than their own huge injury list.
The usual first-leg-at-home rules apply for Celtic, who would probably be happy with a clean sheet or a victory, and would certainly be happy with both. It’s not easy for Celtic to learn much about themselves in the SPL or the Champions League. This, the closest to a mezzanine level between those two competitions, should tell them how good they really are. It’s all pretty darn exciting - and, on reflection, bloody terrifying as well.
Kick off is at 8.05pm.
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