Full time: Malmo 2-0 Celtic (Agg: 4-3)
For the second year in a row under Ronny Deila, Celtic come up short in the final qualifying round of the Champions League. Markus Rosenberg and Felipe Carvalho got the goals as their visitors were undone by their own sloppy defending at two corners.They’ll feel aggrieved at the goal they scored which was disallowed, but can have no real grumbles. They played badly tonight and their travelling fans will be most unhappy with the poor account their players have given of themselves.
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90+5 min: A weak header by Van Dijk hits Yotun on the arm as it makes its way through to Wiland in the Malmo goal. Celtic appeal for a penalty, but none is forthcoming.
90+3 min: Malmo substitution:L Jo Inge Berget off after another fine performance against the club he spent such an unhappy time at on loan last season. He’s been excellent tonight, as his Malmo skipper Markus Rosenberg, who’ll have got a few antennae twitching around Europe with a terrific performance up front. He ends the game by getting a long overdue booking.
90+1 min: From a set-piece, Van Dijk wins the header and provides the knock-down only to be penalised for offside. “Lazy,” says Sutton, who points out he could see along the line and had no excuse.
88 min: With just two minutes left to save the day, Van Dijk lumbers forward and stays there. This has been a dreadful performance from Celtic, who must be better than they’ve shown tonight. They had a goal unfairly disallowed in the first half, but can have few complaints because they’ve been very poor and well beaten by a better team.
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85 min: First Kris Commons and then Stefan Johansen are booked for rash challenges. Celtic’s only apparent plan is to lump the ball long to Griffiths and Ciftci, with many of them fizzing straight though to the goalkeeper. For the past 10 minutes, Chris Sutton has been stressing the need for them to send Virgil van Dijk up to act as a target man, pointing out that they might as well lose by three or four goals as two.
85 min: Anton Tinnerholm is given the freedom of the park to run unimpeded at the Celtic defence from the Malmo right back position. Upon being challenged on the edge of the penalty area, he squares the ball but Berget is unable to fire off a clean round.
80 min: With 10 minutes to go, Celtic need at least two goals or it’s the purgatory of the Europa League group stages for them. Malmo substitution: Vladimir Rodic comes on for Erdal Rakip.
79 min: Kris Commons tries his luck with a drive from long range. It’s high and wide.
78 min: Celtic substitution: Gary Mackay-Steven comes on for James Forrest. a weird one, that, as Forrest has been the one player who has injected a bit of pace into Celtic’s midfield.
75 min: Celtic win a free-kick in the area between the touchline and the left side of the Malmo penalty area. Johansen sends the ball into the area, where Kris Commons gets a touch and then Charlie Mulgrew tries to flick the ball goalwards. Johan Wiland gathers comfortably.
73 min: With Bitton gone, it’s Stefan Johansen’s turn to give the ball away in midfield, allowing Djurdjic to try his luck from the edge of the penalty area. His effort is blocked.
72 min: Celtic substitution: Bitton off, at long last. Nadir Ciftci replaces him and takes up a position alongside Leigh Griffiths.
71 min: In the BT commentary box, you can almost hear Chris Sutton tearing his hair out as he repeatedly stresses the need for Celtic to move the ball more quickly and crisply in the middle third. He’s not wrong. They’ve been very sluggish in that area.
70 min: Bitton gets caught on the ball again and fouls Berget. Having been cautioned for his most recent foul, he’s lucky to avoid a second yellow.
69 min: More danger for Celtic, as Djurdic shapes to pick out Rodic at the far post after dribbling towards the byline near the right upright. He thinks better of it, choosing instead to pull the ball diagonally across the area, but not before it’s rolled out of play for a goal kick.
68 min: Celtic have a couple of chances, with Forrest scorching down the left to tee up Brown, who almost trips over his own feet. Moments previously, Wiland was forced off his line to intercept a cross that was heading towards Leigh Griffiths.
64 min: Celtic need to haul off Nir Bitton, who is far too ponderous and keeps losing possession after getting caught on the ball. This time it’s Mikola Djurdic who catches him unawares and the Celtic midfielder is forced to foul him.
61 min: Apologies - it was Dedryck Boyata who deflected Carvalho’s header over his own line, rather than Van Dijk, who I had originally credited with the gaffe. I wouln’t mind only it’s not like they look even remotely alike. To add insult to injury, Boyata, rather than Carvalho has been credited with the goal. The substitute did, however, get booked for his rather over zealous celebrations. Anyway, the upooshot of that messy goal is that Celtic need to go score twice if they are to have any hope of competing in the Champions League group stages.
56 min: Well that was a lively couple of minutes! Gordon saved well from Berget’s diagonal drive, but could only parry the ball into to path of Rosenberg and was quickly back on his feet to parry the follow-up shot from about 14 yards out. It was a splendid save to put the ball out for a corner.
The resulting inswinger caught Celtic’s players on their heels, with Mulgrew caught napping as the substitute Carvalho rose highest to get his head to the ball. Skimming his header towards the near post, the ball hit Boyata’s foot and crossed the line, before being clawed back into play by Gordon. Carvalho was on hand to scramble it back over the line from close range.
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GOAL! Malmo 2-0 Celtic (Agg: 4-3) (Carvalho 54)
Celtic concede another goal from a another corner, with pretty atrocious defending to blame for their downfall again. Carvalho the substitute poked home from three or four yards out, after Celtic had failed to clear the ball when his original headed attempt was blocked on the line by Boyata.
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52 min: Craig Gordon saves his team’s bacon with a splendid double save. More on that anon ...
51 min: Celtic win a free-kick on the edge of the Malmo penalty area, wide right. Stefan Johansen curls the ball towards the far post towards Virgil van Dijk, but Johan Wiland is quick off his line to punch clear.
48 min: Another Celtic player has his name taken, with Dedryck Boyata getting booked.
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46 min: Celtic’s players fall asleep at a throw-in again and almost concede a second goal. Yotun wriggles past Virgil van Dijk and pulls a dfiagonal ball across the penalty area from the byline. Unmarked and with half the goal to aim at, Rosenberg steers the ball horribly wide.
Second half: Malmo 1-0 Celtic (Agg: 3-3)
Celtic kick off, playing towards their own fans. They’ve brought Kris Commons on for Stuart Armstrong. Malmo have made a change too: Felipe Carvalho is on for Rasmus Bengtsson.
More on Leigh Griffiths's booking ...
Celtic’s striker is a very lucky boy. I thought originally he had led with his knee into the groin of Anton Tinnerholm as he charged over to hurry him along, but decided I must have been seeing things, because nobody could be that stupid. Replays show that Griffiths did indeed knee Tinnerholm in the swingers. It wasn’t a particularly violent assault, but any man who has ever shipped one will tell you there isn’t really any such thing as a gentle knee in the knackers. Griffiths should have walked for that.
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More on Celtic’s non-goal
Replays show that while leaping to try to head the ball clear, Malmo defender Kari Arnason actually punched it. There was no infringement whatsoever by any Celtic player before Bitton pounced on the breaking ball to poke home, so they should have had a penalty at the very least.
Half-time: Malmo 1-0 Celtic (Agg: 3-3)
Malmo went ahead courtesy of a goal from their lively striker and captain Markus Rosenberg, who was left unmarked at one of several set pieces when various Celtic defenders appeared to go asleep. They looked to have a perfectly good equaliser ruled not long before the interval, when Nir Bitton’s effort from seven or eight yards out was penalised for what seemed to be a complete non-challenge on the goalkeeper from Leigh Griffiths.
44 min: Malmo miss two excellent chances, with Rosenberg fluffing his lines by failing to make clean contact from close range while trying to convert a cross from the right. Soon after, Craig Gordon sticks out a strong left hand to keep out a rising Rodic drive from about 10 yards. That’s a splendid save. There was some sweet build-up play too, with Rodic being teed up by a neat back-heel from Rosenberg.
Celtic have a goal disallowed
41 min: Celtic win a corner. The ball’s played into the penalty area, where Johan Wiland comes to punch clear and misses the ball completely under pressure from Leigh Griffiths. The ball breaks for Nir Bitton, who pokes it home from about seven yards. As Celtic’s players wheel away to celebrate their equaliser, the referee disallows their goal on what seems like the advice of the goal line official. If it was for a foul on the goalkeeper, which seems the only conceivable reason, it was a shocking decision.
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39 min: With Malmo right-back Anton Tinnerholm dawdling over a free-kick, Leigh Griffiths rushes over to confront the player. Inviting contact, Tinnerman waits for Griffiths to run into him and goes down as if shot by a sniper from the stands. Griffiths gets booked and could conceivably have been sent off, although Tinnerman made an Alpine peak out of a very small molehill there.
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38 min: From the corner, Gordon punches clear at his ner post to concede another one. The ball’s sent into the area again, where Scott Brown heads clear. Spotting an infringement, the referee awards Celtic a free-kick.
37 min: From midfield, Yoton plays the ball wide to Berget, who drills a low cross into the Celtic penalty area. Boyata sticks out a leg to prevent Rosenberg from pouncing and Malmo win a corner.
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36 min: Sloppy play from Bitton, who gifts possession to Malmo with a loose pass just outside his own penalty area. Celtic get away with it and moments later Bitton does much the same thing again.
33 min: Rosenburg is penalised for a foul on Dedryck Boyata, but doesn’t get booked despite it being his third or fourth offence.
32 min: Nir Bitton plays a long pass back to Craig Gordon in the Celtic goal and the Scottish champions attempt to build an attack from the back. Meanwhile on the touchline, Malmo’s Oscar Lewicki is getting treatment for some manner of facial injury.
31 min: In the co-comms role for BT Sport, Chris Sutton has this to say of his former club. “Celtic need to play quicker through the middle of the park and get better movement up front,” he says.
29 min: Nikola Djurdic plays a ball over the top for Yotun to chase. The overhit pass threatens to sail wide of the right upright, but the Peruvian full-back shows great athleticism to try to hook it back into play. He’s an inch or two too short and Celtic have a goal kick.
26 min: It should probably be added that Gordon wasn’t entirely without blame, having been caught floundering off his line coming for a ball he had no real hope of getting. Celtic need to score if they are to keep their hopes of making the group stages alive.
24 min: James Forrest goes on a slaloming run into space before unleashing a curling shot that’s straight at Wiland. They haven’t played particularly badly, but the defending at that corner was atrocious. Rosenberg was completely unmarked as he ran from deep to leap higher than anybody else and send the ball past the fairly helpless Gordon. Replays suggest it went in off his shoulder, rather than his head.
GOAL! Malmo 1-0 Celtic (Agg: 3-3) (Rosenberg 22)
Malmo go into the lead on away goals, with Markus Rosenberg flicks just inside the far post after shaking off his marker and leapiong highest to fire home from Yotun’s whipped delivery.
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21 min: Malmo win a corner, which Yoshimar Yotun takes ...
19 min: Corner for Celtic, which Stefan Johansen sends in to the mixer. Johan Wiland charges off his line to punch clear, but doesn’t make clean contact. In the ensuing penalty box melee, Virgil van Dijk incurs the wrath of the referee and gets booked for reasons that aren’t quite clear. Kicking the ball away? I can’t think what else it might have been.
17 min: Saidy Janko tries to keep the ball in play down by the corner flag to the left of Celtic’s goal, under pressure from Berget, who keeps switching wings with Vladimir Rodic. The Malmo man puts the ball out and Celtic have a goal-kick.
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15 min: Celtic win a corner, from which nothing comes. Both sides are looking fairly vulnerable at the back and it’s difficult to envisage this match ending scoreless on the evidence of the opening 15 minutes. It’s been niggly fare too, with plenty of fouls to keep referee Milorad Mazic busy.
13 min: Malmo’s back-pedalling defenders fail to deal with a long punt from midfield and Leigh Griffiths sprints past them and attempts to lash the bouncing ball past Wiland and into the goal from a fairly narrow angle. His effort screams wide, when perhaps a little more finesse and patience were called for.
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11 min: It’s that man Berget again. This time, the former Celtic loanee sends a long range shot whistling high and wide, firing off balance after Celtic had sat back while defending a free-kick. Malmo are looking pretty dangerous here.
10 min: Charlie Mulgrew gets caught for pace as Berget drives inside from the right flank and drills the ball across the face of Celtic’s goal, where Markus Rosenburg is unable to poke it home from six yards out, allowing the ball to roll towards the left touchline.
9 min: Charlie Mu8lgrew is extremely lucky to avoid a booking after clattering into Berget and sending the Malmo winger somersaulting through the air.
6 min: Celtic win a free-kick just inside their own half for a wayward elbow into the neck of Scott Brown. Celticd dawsle over the free-kick, earning the loud opprobrium of the crowd, before Charlie Mulgrew eventually larrups the ball long and into arms of Malmo keeper Johan Wiland.
5 min: Malmo win a free-kick wide on the right, for a Johansen foul on Markus Rosenburg. The ball’s overhit and swung straight in to the arms of Craig Gordon, while the linesman flags for some perceived injustice or other. Celtic win a free-kick in the opposite direction.
3 min: Jo Inge Berget tries a shot from the edge of the penalty area over on the right, but curls his effort well wide of the far upright. Moents previously, Saidy Janko attempted to pick out Leigh Griffiths with a cross from the right, only for Arnason to clear.
Malmo get the ball rolling ...
The home side kick off in front of a vocal sell-out crowd and immediately win a throw-in deep in Celtic territory courtesy of a long diagonal ball towards Jo Inge Berget down the left wing. The ball’s played back into their own half, shortly before Stuart Armstrong is penalised for a foul on Kari Arnason.
Not long now: On a dry and breezy night, the Serbian officials lead out the players. Celtic’s players wear their third kit a fluorescent hi-viz yellow and black shooped shirts, luminous yellow shorts, and black and yellow hooped socks. Malmo’s players wear pale blue shirts, white shorts and pale blue socks. They look a bit like Manchester City, but are unlikely to play them. Scott Brown wins the coin-toss for Celtic and adjourns to the pre-match huddle before play gets under way.
Celtic’s travelling fans are in fine voice too. They’ve brought a decent crowd to Sweden, who are doing their best to try to drown out their hosts.
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Atmosphere alert: Compared to Celtic Park, Malmo’s Swedbank Stadion may have a fairly small capacity of 24,000, but the place is rocking tonight as the home fans do their best to get behind their team. They’ll have been momentarily silenced by the sight of their striker Markus Rosenburg pulling up with what some sort of knock during the warm-up, but as yet there’s no news to report on whether or not he’ll be able to play. It didn’t look too serious, but the player was definitely concerned about something.
Age Hareida speaks ...
The Malmo boss reveals that “we have no option but to attack”, but concedes tonight’s task will be difficult compared to last season, when his side overcame a deficit to beat Red Bull Salzburg. He adds that he thinks Celtic are a better team than Salzburg.
Ronny Deila speaks ...
Asked why he selected the 19-year-old Saidy Janko to play at right-back, he says: “Because he played well at the weekend and has very good speed. He’s the best option with Mikael out. We have a very, very strong team today.” Asked why he picked Charlie Mulgrew at left-back instead of Emilio Izaguirre, he says it’s down to experience. “He’s very experienced as a player,” says Deila. “He’s a leader.”
The Guardian’s football correspondent gives his verdict...
Celtic have a better team and are a goal to the good.. barring anything daft, would expect them to progress.
— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) August 25, 2015
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Team news: Celtic’s Mikael Lustig has lost his battle for fitness. Saidy Janko will play at right-back, with Charlie Mulgrew on the left. The in form Leigh Griffiths keeps his place leading the line up front, with Nadir Ciftci remaining on the bench.
For Malmo, Enoch Kofi Adu comes into midfield in place of Erdal Rakip, while skipper Markus Rosenburg returns from suspension and replaces Magnus Wolff Eikrem, who drops to the bench.
Malmo v Celtic line-ups
Malmo FF: Wiland, Tinnerholm, Arnason, Bengtsson, Yotun, Rodic, Lewicki, Adu, Berget, Rosenberg, Djurdjic.
Subs: Fredrik Andersson, Rakip, Molins, Mehmeti, Eikrem, Carvalho,
Vindheim.
Celtic: Gordon, Janko, Boyata, van Dijk, Mulgrew, Brown, Bitton, Forrest, Johansen, Armstrong, Griffiths.
Subs: Bailly, Izaguirre, Ambrose, Ciftci, Commons, Mackay-Steven, Rogic.
Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia)
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CELTIC v Malmo: Gordon; Janko, Boyata, van Dijk, Mulgrew; Brown, Bitton; Forrest, Johansen, Armstrong; Griffiths #UCL (MD)
— Celtic Football Club (@celticfc) August 25, 2015
Starting XI: Wiland- Tinnerholm, Árnason, Bengtsson, Yotún- Rodic, Lewicki, Adu, Berget- Rosenberg, Djurdjic.
— Malmö FF (@Malmo_FF) August 25, 2015
Malmo manager says Celtic "pigs" slur was out of context
Age Hareide has attempted to clarify criticism of Celtic’s players in the wake of last week’s first leg, when his goalkeeper Johan Wiland likened Celtic’s players to “pigs and children”. Quizzed about the barbs, aimed specifically at Scott Brown, Leigh Griffith and Nadir Ciftci, Hareide explained that the correct interpretation of Wiland’s comments had been lost in translation.
“A pig is something else in English than in Scandinavia,” Hareide said. “You have a word that starts with ‘f’ and ends with ‘k’. You say it all the time, you know. It means something else in Scandinavia. If you travel abroad and you are going to write about players from Sweden or Norway or Germany or Spain or France, you have to learn the words.
“To play like a pig is to play dirty. It was a tough game but it was not a dirty game. You have to have respect for the languages of places you travel to and pronounce things correctly.”
What now for Virgil van Dijk?
Celtic’s Dutch centre-back could make his final appearance for the club tonight, with speculation mounting that he will sign for Southampton upon his return from Sweden. Valued at £10m by his club, Van Dijk has long been linked with a move away from Celtic Park and has made no secret of his desire to move elsewhere, but Celtic assistant manager John Collins is unconcerned by suggestions that the 24-year-old might not be in the right frame of mind to play against Malmo.
“It’s water off a duck’s back, it’s what happens when you’re a good player, there is always speculation,” said Collins. “I’m 100% sure Virgil will be focused on performing for us. He is 100% ready to play. I thought he was terrific for us last week in the first leg and I have no doubt he will be terrific again here as well. He is a huge player for us and he’ll be ready.” Van Dijk signed for Celtic from Groningen in 2013 for £2.6m. You can read more on that story and others in Ewan Murray’s match preview, while David Hytner has the skinny from the south coast.
Celtic coach Ronny Deila has spoken ...
“We are finally here,” said Deila. “We have a few nerves, but no fear. The team have enough quality. We showed in Glasgow that we are the better team. Now we are away so it will be a different game but we are confident that if we play to our best we will win. We have gone six months without losing. We kept a clean sheet against Quarabag [in the previous round] and they were a very good team. We can do that again.”
Malmo coach Age Hareide has spoken ...
“The game against Salzburg last year [when Malmo overturned a 2-1 deficit to qualify for the group stages] was more important, both financially and football-wise,” said Hareide during his pre-match press conference. “Then we had to do something we had not done before [reach the group stage] so this is easier. I have seen Celtic away from home and they play in a great manner. They defend well. They could be more difficult than to break down than Salzburg because Salzburg are always on the attack and Celtic are more balanced.”
Early team news ...
Celtic’s Swedish right-back Mikael Lustig has been given an even money chance of being fit as he continues his recovery from the hamstring injury that forced him out of last week’s first leg, while striker Nadir Ciftci, who came on as a substitute during last week’s game, is available despite sitting out the fifth game of a six-match domestic ban against Dundee United last Saturday. The Turk, until recently a player with the Tangerines, was punished after being found guilty of biting Jim McAlister during a tasty Dundee derby on the final day of last season.
Malmo captain and top scorer Markus Rosenberg is available for selection, having returned from suspension along with midfielder Enock Kofi Adu. A former West Brom player, the 32-year-old is a proven Champions League goalscorer who fired three of the four goals scored by his team in their six group games last season.
Malmo v Celtic: there can be only one ...
After last week’s missed opportunity to put this tie beyond Malmo within 45 minutes, Celtic travel to the Swedbank Stadion with the most slender advantage. Two goals from unsuccessful former Celtic loanee Jo Inge Berget kept Malmo in a tie that could scarcely have started more inauspiciously for the Swedish side who found themselves two goals down within 10 minutes.
But for all the post-match handwringing of assorted pundits and supporters, not to mention post-match moaning from assorted Malmo players, Celtic did emerge victorious from the first leg courtesy of a Leigh Griffiths brace scored either side of Nir Bitton’s conversion from a Stefan Johansen corner. Whether they can finish the job against Swedish opposition that will fancy their chances of overturning the deficit remains to be seen. A place in the Champions League group stages is up for grabs and Celtic’s supporters will be extremely displeased if their Bhoys don’t take it.
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