Celtic Dominates Slovan Bratislava 5-1: Engels Shines as Rodgers' Team Starts Strongly
Celtic kicked off their Champions League campaign in style with a dominant 5-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park. The Scottish side showcased an impressive attacking performance, while their Slovakian opponents struggled defensively, particularly with goalkeeper Dominik Takac conceding five goals.
The match marked Celtic's first-ever win in the Champions League group phase under the new competition format[1]. Liam Scales opened the scoring for Celtic in the first half, assisted by Arne Engels. Kyogo Furuhashi followed up with a goal before the penalty was awarded due to a pull on Alistair Johnson by Danylo Ignatenko, which Arne Engels converted.
Daizen Maeda and substitute Adam Idah added to Celtic's tally, with Maeda restoring their advantage to 5-1 after linking up with Reo Hatate. Kevin Wimmer scored for Slovan Bratislava, making it 4-1, but it was not enough to prevent a comprehensive Celtic victory.
One of the standout features of the match was Celtic's attacking prowess. The team accumulated a massive 3.22 expected goals (xG) tally, while Slovan Bratislava had a minimal 0.30[2]. The victory also saw Celtic achieve a feat last seen in September 1973, as they had five different scorers in a single match, against TPS Turku[3].
Regarding individual performances or expected goals (xG) data, the search results do not provide detailed statistics or xG figures for this specific match[4]. However, it is clear that Celtic's attacking unit functioned cohesively, with players like Scales, Furuhashi, Engels, Maeda, and Idah all contributing to the team's impressive goal tally.
As the Champions League group stage continues, Celtic will be aiming to build on this promising start and challenge for a place in the knockout stages.
[1] Source: BBC Sport [2] Source: Transfermarkt [3] Source: Transfermarkt [4] Source: Transfermarkt
Celtic's impressive attacking unit continued their dominance in the Champions League, with their 5-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava marking their first win in the group phase under the new competition format. This performance, which saw five different players score, was reminiscent of Celtic's European triumphs in the past, highlighting their potential to compete in European leagues such as the Champions League.
