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Celtic make light work of KR Reykjavik to progress in Champions League Celtic make light work of KR Reykjavik to progress in Champions League
(35 minutes later)
After making heavy weather of the first leg in Reykjavik against KR in Iceland Celtic wasted no time in providing more tangible proof of their superiority in the unlikely environs of Murrayfield to reach the third qualifying round of the Champions League, where they face the winners of St Patrick’s Athletic and Legia Warsaw, who play on Wednesday. It took Celtic 84 minutes to score their only goal in Reykjavik, but on Tuesday night in the unfamiliar environs of Murrayfield they wasted no time in finishing off the job. Wednesday night’s Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at Celtic Park will last for more than two hours; KR’s Champions League closing ceremony lasted only minutes.
Three goals up midway through the first half, Celtic added a fourth in the second period and were never tested by a desperately outclassed KR side. Moving east along the M8 to the national rugby stadium inconvenienced Ronny Deila’s team not a jot. Aided by uncharacteristically poor goalkeeping from Stefan Magnusson, the central defender Virgil van Dijk scored two in the opening 20 minutes. The striker Teemu Pukki added a further brace as his side eased their way to a third qualifying round tie against either St Patrick’s Athletic or Legia Warsaw, who play on Wednesday night.
Fraser Forster was between the posts after Celtic reportedly rejected a “derisory” offer from Southampton earlier in the day. At the furthest extreme of the line-up, Teemu Pukki came in for Anthony Stokes in the only change to the side which won the first leg 1-0 in Reykjavik. Kris Commons, especially, was unlucky not to make the night even more uncomfortable for the Icelandic team, but revelling in their night out in the capital, Celtic’s fans were more than happy with the evening’s work. A large contingent had made the journey to watch their side test out Murrayfield’s new hybrid surface.
The Finnish striker had an early chance to impress but fired straight at the Reykjavik goalkeeper, Stefan Magnusson. Fortunately for Pukki the home side did not have long to wait for the opener, which arrived after 13 minutes. Magnusson, who had played a big part in keeping Celtic at bay in Iceland, flapped at a Kris Commons corner, allowing Charlie Mulgrew to lay on the assist for Virgil van Dijk. Deila, who has now successfully navigated his own first test since replacing Neil Lennon as Celtic manager, did not pretend that there had been any huge struggle in dismantling KR. “The first half was good and we started the game well,” he said. “We kept them under pressure and won the ball back when we lost it. The second half was a bit sloppy I think. We should have been keeping up the tempo so we could win [by] more. But I have to be happy.
If that was careless, the second Celtic goal, six minutes later, was a startling example of the visitors not learning from their mistake. Commons took another corner, Mikael Lustig this time provided the assist, Magnusson again blundered, and Van Dijk headed into the net at the far post. “The pitch was better than last week but we need to work in training to get the tempo even better. Today was a good start but this isn’t the best opponent we are going to get. But we have to start somewhere. We will have to take what is coming to us in the next round.”
Pukki, who had forced the hapless goalkeeper into a good save minutes earlier, made it three after 26 minutes. Again the ammunition came from the left, with Callum McGregor, who scored the goal in the first leg, crossing low and invitingly into his team-mate’s path. The striker scored from close in. Van Dijk’s opening two goals came from Commons’ corners, and if both could be attributed to the unfortunate Magnusson, whose shot-stopping in the two ties was far better than his ability to collect high balls, Deila was pleased that some early training ground work on set pieces had borne fruit.
There was predictable talk of a rugby score in Murrayfield’s environs and, with a 4-0 aggregate lead, all that was left for Ronny Deila and his players was to maintain their level of performance. Pukki scored the third seven minutes later, with KR again being damaged down the left. This time it was from a low cross invitingly placed in front of the Finnish striker by Callum McGregor, the scorer in Reykjavik.
Pukki, hungry and eager, came closest to adding a fourth but sent his 20-yard shot just wide of Magnusson’s right-hand post. Although Celtic scored just once more through Pukki 20 minutes from the end, humiliating the Icelanders wasn’t a prerequisite for the night. The Scottish champions went about their business efficiently and with flashes of flourish against a limited side.
After creating a host of chances in the opening 45 minutes, Celtic found it more difficult in the second period despite enjoying nearly all the possession. KR had clearly decided at half time that avoiding a humiliating defeat was the priority and with nine players packed behind the ball restricted the channels towards Magnusson. The only downside for Deila is that he may not have Fraser Forster to call on for much longer. Celtic are reported to have turned down a “derisory” bid from Southampton for the England goalkeeper, but that is unlikely to be the end of the matter.
The goalkeeper, who had recovered his composure, saved from Commons just before the hour and did even better a few minutes later, tipping away a shot from Celtic’s top scorer last season.
The fourth goal finally arrived in the 71st minute and was Pukki’s last act before being replaced by Liam Henderson. Looking a much more confident player, the Finn beat a defender inside the box before lashing a right-foot shot into the net.