It will be a shock if Celtic or Lazio trouble the judges when this Champions League rumbles towards it conclusion. A frenetic clash in Glasgow’s east end proved entertaining but largely on the basis that both teams had clear flaws. This was hardly a shock. The return of Brendan Rodgers to Celtic was surely with growth on a bigger stage in mind. The jubilant scenes which greeted the weekend win at Motherwell are fine in parochial parlance but a wider world shrugs its shoulders. Rodgers will be furious that Celtic couldn’t return even a point from this fixture; a stoppage-time header from Pedro Rodríguez sending the Italian contingent into raptures.
The task for Celtic was to render this a memorable European evening beyond the playing of Zadok the Priest. The club has not been in the Champions League in every year since but the wait for a Champions League group-stage win, stretching back to 2013, looked faintly preposterous. Results count for more than decibel levels and flag displays. Lazio, who have a dismal away record in Europe and have started the Serie A campaign poorly, appeared favourable opposition. Maurizio Sarri landed in Glasgow as a coach under pressure.
The visitors had looked the more threatening before the fine goal which handed Celtic the advantage they craved. Rodgers’ team had actually performed strongly in the early exchanges of their first group game in Rotterdam, with wastefulness coming back to bite after Feyenoord heeded warnings. Daizen Maeda’s darting run rattled the Lazio defence before Matt O’Riley cushioned the ball wonderfully into the path of Kyogo Furuhashi. The forward calmly slotted his first Champions League goal under the onrushing Ivan Provedel. Celtic had substance to match style.
The challenge thereafter was for a Celtic defence which has regularly failed to convince to stand firm. They were breached before the half-hour mark, with the softest of equalisers. After the hosts failed to clear a Luis Alberto corner, Matías Vecino was on hand to flick the ball over the line before Joe Hart could regroup. That it got to Vecino in the first place was the Celtic failing.
Lazio spurned a glorious opportunity to take the lead within five minutes of the restart. The hitherto anonymous Ciro Immobile played in Felipe Anderson, who found himself with time and space at the left angle of Celtic’s penalty area. Apparently bemused by this freedom, Anderson fluffed his lines. Celtic responded through Maeda, who watched a teasing cross from the right scrambled away by the Lazio defence. Reo Hatate came even closer for Celtic, the midfielder’s free-kick saved by Provedel before Alistair Johnston lashed the rebound over the crossbar. A sign of Lazio frustration arrived from Alberto, who was booked for his vehement protests over the non-award of a penalty. Johnston’s challenge at the time was tame.
The second half was a ragged affair. Luis Palma, a Celtic substitute, could have made himself a hero upon arrival but Alessio Romagnoli denied him with a despairing tackle. Palma thought he had the last laugh with an excellent near-post drive after a miscued Maeda overhead kick had broken into the Honduran winger’s path. Instead, VAR ruled out the effort for offside. Lazio, who had settled for their point, offered nothing in response until Pedro headed home Mattéo Guendouzi’s cross.
