Celtic’s untested defensive pairing of Kristoffer Ajer and Nir Bitton suffered a night to forget in Astana.
Just when you thought Celtic would cruise into the Champions League group stages without a care in the world, they emerged from their tedious trip to Astana mopping sweat from their brow.
A 5-0 first-leg thrashing at Parkhead should have sealed the deal against the Kazakhstan champions but in Tuesday’s return leg, almost 4,000 miles from Glasgow, Brendan Rodgers’ side certainly made a meal of qualification.
With 69 minutes gone, Celtic were 4-1 down against a rampant Astana and only two late goals from Olivier Ntcham and Leigh Griffiths calmed the nerves and added a degree of respectability to the scoreline.
Making things difficult
However, Rodgers will have been left under no illusions that his makeshift defence is in dire need of reinforcement. Talented young Norwegian Kristoffer Ajer (below) made only his fourth appearance for the club in a centre-back pairing with Nir Bitton, a midfielder by trade who has been forced to fill in thanks to injuries to Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko.
And it’s fair to say neither covered themselves in glory against Astana’s dangerous strike force of Junior Kabananga and Patrick Twumasi. Ajer turned into his own net to give the hosts a first-half lead they would not relinquish while Bitton had a night to forget.
The Israeli international has looked assured in his new role in recent weeks but you got the sense that he had not really been tested. That changed on Tuesday, and Bitton (below) may have received a D for his efforts, completely out of position for Astana’s third and fourth goals.
Not that Bitton should be criticised too heavily. After all, he has not, and has never been, a centre-back.
Nonetheless, Celtic’s signing of Ajax Cape Town defender Rivaldo Coetzee can’t come soon enough. A technically gifted South African international, Rodgers confirmed after the game that a deal was all but done for the ‘outstanding young player’.
Bitton, in particular, may be pretty happy to hear the news.
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