Celtic’s 5-1 hammering of Slovan Bratislava at Parkhead meant more than just three points on the board to start their Champions League campaign.
It meant justification.
Not just for Brendan Rodgers – proving that he is capable of building on the foundations Ange Postecoglou set and clapping back at those who doubted his European credentials – but also for some of the less-heralded members of this Celtic squad.
Surely Liam Scales was just a placeholder until The Hoops bought somebody better, right? Surely he would lose his spot when Auston Trusty arrived for £6 million?
As for Alistair Johnston, was he really the equal of Josip Juranovic? Were Arne Engels and Adam Idah worthy of their historic transfer fees? Had Paulo Bernardo done enough during his Parkhead loan spell to earn a permanent transfer from Benfica?
Well, with Celtic putting Slovan Bratislava to the sword in front of an awe-struck Neil Lennon – cruising to their biggest-ever Champions League group-stage win – the nature of a thrilling, record-breaking performance also provided an emphatic riposte to all those who doubted the talents of Rodgers, Scales, Johnston, Engels and Idah.
Liam Scales, Adam Idah and co prove Celtic critics wrong
“He put his stamp on it. Brendan Rodgers came in for dogs abuse. (Some were saying) ‘Ah, its too slow’ and all this carry on. But look at the pace they are playing at,” Gordon Dalziel, the former Rangers, Manchester City and Partick Thistle striker tells the Open Goal podcast on YouTube.
“Every one of them… You look at (Wednesday) night; ‘Oh, Scales will not be in the team…’ He was brilliant. Alistair Johnston; He is just getting better and better and better. And the young lad Engels who has come in…
“The big thing for them as well, see the people they bring of the bench, they make an impact. (James) Forrest came on last night. A great ball through to Idah; bang, goal.”
On current form, Scales will take some shifting.
Outstanding against Rangers in that 3-0 Old Firm derby victory, the former Shamrock Rovers starlet opened the scoring against Slovan with a thumping header from a wicked Engels corner.
Speaking of Engels, the £11 million signing from Augsburg has slotted seamlessly into the role vacated by Matt O’Riley. And that is no mean feet. Engels, after setting up Scales’ opener, scored his first Hoops goal from the penalty spot.
Johnston was excellent again at right-back too. His crossing has come on leaps and bounds of late.
And Idah, the £9 million striker, also scored his maiden goal as a permanent member of Rodgers’ squad as he latched onto Forrest’s through ball and clipped a sumptuous first-time finish into the net.
Brendan Rodgers’ signings are justifying their cost
Paulo Bernardo, meanwhile, only played the final 13 minutes off the bench against the Slovenian outfit.
But, after Celtic pulled off something of a masterstroke by agreeing a knock-down £3.5 million fee with Benfica, the former Portugal Under 21 international is arguably performing better already than he did throughout the entirety of last season’s loan spell.
Celtic legend John Hartson feels that Bernardo will be the latest player to earn Celtic a massive profit after O’Riley’s £25 million switch to Brighton and Hove Albion.
Dalziel, meanwhile, has no problem with admitting he was wrong about a player who took his time to settle into that green and white jersey.
“I am a massive fan, and I wasn’t at first,” Dalziel adds. “I think Bernardo is magnificent, I really do.”
Celtic have now won every single one of their seven matches in 2024/25. A run they will be odds-on favourites to continue against Falkirk in the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals this weekend.
The Hoops’ seven wins, meanwhile, have accumulated an aggregate scoreline of 22-2.
Bigger tests are coming in the shape of Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta and RB Leipzig. But if they can maintain their current form – and if the likes of Engels, Bernardo and Idah continue to progress at their current rate – who’s to say there will not be a shade of shamrock green in the knock-out rounds of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since 2013?
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