Celtic have made it through to the Champions League group stage – just.
Celtic’s Saidy Janko in action against Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Celtic have made it through to the Champions League group stage by the skin of their teeth after a 2-0 defeat to Hapoel Be’er Sheva on Tuesday night.
The Bhoys had won the first leg 5-2 last week, and headed to Israel in search of a positive result to make it into the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2013.
Brendan Rodgers celebrates
However, Celtic served up a dismal performance on Tuesday evening, losing 2-0 thanks to goals from Ben Sahar and Ovidiu Hoban – and whilst Celtic edged through with a 5-4 win, the Bhoys were far from convincing in Israel.
The end result is what manager Brendan Rodgers wanted though, as Celtic are back in the Champions League group stage after two failed qualification campaign under former manager Ronny Deila.
Celtic fans celebrate
The Daily Record report that qualification will earn Celtic a whopping £22m, handing manager Rodgers some more funds in the transfer market, whilst there could be some magical nights at Celtic Park this season.
After the final whistle sounded in Israel – and after Celtic fans had breathed a huge sigh of relief following a tense 90 minutes – pundits and former Celtic players took to Twitter to give their views on the game.
Celtic’s Kieran Tierney celebrates
Robbie Savage, Paul Dickov and Stan Collymore congratulated Celtic on their success, whilst Trevor Sinclair suggested that the game was ‘uncomfortable, but the Bhoys got the job done.
Ex-Celtic players Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Gary Hooper and Marc Crosas also celebrated the club’s return to playing against Europe’s elite, with Hooper simply saying that ‘Celtic are back’ – and manager Rodgers may well be the reason for that.
What did you think of Celtic’s performance against Hapoel Be’er Sheva?
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