AIK coach admits Celtic were simply too good in Europa League clash

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Scottish Premiership champions Celtic thrashed AIK Stockholm with James Forrest, Mikey Johnston, Christopher Jullien and Lewis Morgan scoring.

AIK Stockholm coach Rikard Norling believes that facing Celtic was simply a step too far for his side after they were pummelled 4-1 at home by the Scottish giants during Thursday’s Europa League qualifier, while speaking to Fotbollskanalen.

After their Champions League collapse at the hands of Cluj, Celtic have clawed back a degree of respectability with a 6-1 aggregate win against the champions of Sweden.

Neil Lennon’s side won 2-0 at Parkhead a week ago and cruised to a 4-1 triumph in the away leg too with James Forrest, Mikey Johnston, Christopher Jullien and Lewis Morgan all on target in a dominant display at the Friends Arena.

AIK beat FC Ararat of Armenia and Sherif of Moldova to reach the final qualifying round but Celtic, as you might have expected, represented a substantial step up in quality – one Norling believes his side simply weren’t ready for.

“Tonight, I did not think we could handle Celtic,” he said. “I do not want to say that we cannot measure ourselves (against this level of opposition), but we clearly have a long way to go to win against such teams.

“We can win against Ararat and Sheriff, but not this team.”

Celtic fans might have been nervous about a clash against the top dogs of Swedish football.

Yes, this is not a ‘classic’ Celtic side but with Forrest, Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard in the form of their lives, the Hoops still have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with any side in Europe’s secondary club competition.