Adam Idah blasted a Champions League double but Aston Villa’s Premier League class saw Celtic fall short in a thrilled at Villa Park.
Brendan Rodgers men had nothing to lose with their spot in the knockout stages already in the bank with a game to spare.
But they managed to give the EPL big guns a scare by roaring back from a nightmare start to leave Unai Emery’s men sweating on their top eight place. The depleted Hoops – who were without key men Cameron Carter-Vickers and Daizen Maeda – couldn’t hold out though as the Midland side’s power told in the second period.
But Celtic’s work was already done – and they will now be rewarded with a glamour clash in the knockout stages against European heavyweight Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Villa fans unfurled a huge Ozzy Osbourne banner before kick-off in homage to their team and the Black Sabbath Brummie rock hero.
And it was Heaven and Hell for the Hoops at times – and everything in between on a heavy metal night in the Midlands. Celts feared the worst when Morgan Rogers notched a double inside the opening five minutes. But Idah blasted back with a coupe of his own to stun Villa Park before the interval.
The English Premier League side’s power and quality prove too much in the second period though as Ollie Watkins bagged the third – before ballooning a penalty as well. The frontman got his hat trick right at the end but it was a special night for youngster Daniel Cummings as the kid came off the bench to make his Celtic debut on the biggest stage.
Here’s 5 talking points from Villa Park
PAINFUL LESSONS LEARNED
Celtic have come a long way this season since their battering by Borussia Dortmund earlier in the competition. But nights like this show there might have learned rom previous painful lessons.
Strangely, Celtic actually started really well at Villa Park. They kept the ball for the entire first minute and seemed to have settled. Yet they conceded the first time Villa went up the pitch – and then again the next time.
Celts have had a bad habit of losing goals in bunches over the year, when these hefty losses have come around. Plenty of punters would have feared another bad one. But this time Celtic did stabilise and get themselves back into the game. There were some bumpy moments and Villa’s power and quality was too much by the end. But this Celtic side have much more resilience – and it will give them some hope for the next phase.
IDAH BIG CHANCE
The spotlight was on Idah with Kyogo departing for Rennes earlier in the week – and the big striker managed to shine.
He showed last term he was a man for the big occasion, with crucial goals in the title run in, including against Rangers at Ibrox and with the Scottish Cup winner.
It’s not been quite so fluent for him this season though. He’s not managed a consistent run of games though and things were not quite breaking for him. Forcing that slightly fortunate winner against Young Boys might have been a turning point given his display here.
Idah led the line superbly and was lethal when the chances came his way as he became the first Irishman to notch a double in the Champions League or European Cup since Ronnie Whelan did it for Liverpool in 1984.
There’s still talk about Rodgers going out and signing a big money striker in the last few days of the window. But if Idah can continue after this spark, the new recruit might be his back up.
MCGINN THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY
‘We’ve got Super John McGinn’ was the chant from he Villa fans, and it must have felt a bit like a boast to Celtic supporters.
The Scotland hero came close to moving to Parkhead, of course, during Rodgers first spell at the club, but he opted for Villa instead.
Celtic’s loss has been the English side’s gain, and you just knew he’d get his chance here, even when he was named on the bench.
McGinn is just coming back from injury but was called on after just half an hour – which would have delighted his family and friends.
A 14 seater mini bus charged down from Scotland – and a fair whack of them were Celtic fans, who might rib him about his role in Celtic’s first goal. He had a hand in Villa’s third thought to balance it up.
NEW LOOK
The revamped Champions League format has taken some getting used to, but you’ve got to say it has been a success.
There was a fear there would be a lot of dead rubbers with 24 teams progressing out of 36. Yet it felt like the last round of fixtures was a total thrill ride with clubs all over the continent playing for something.
It’s certainly a format that has suited Celtic. The extra games at this level were more than welcome, but it’s also allowed Rodgers’ men to breath.
The Dortmund defeat could have been devastating in the old style, but now Celts could take a step back and plot a path to the knockout stages.
Sure, they got a decent draw, but they also produced some cracking performances to get the results they needed.
The Hoops have been hammered for their Euro performances over the years but in this new format they have come up trumps.
CELTIC FAN SWEAT
The Hoops have been walking a UEFA high wire for most of the campaign with the threat of an away game bang hanging over them since back in the RB Leipzig game for the use of pyro.
If they stepped out of line again within a two year period it would be an automatic shut out. The message had been received as there were no incidents in the other games.
And there wasn’t wide scale use of flare at Villa Park – but there was a smoke bomb laughed onto the pitch after Celtic’s second goal.
It just remains to be seen whether UEFA take the ultimate action as it would mean while Celtic are in the knockout stages, they might not have their fans along for the away leg.