Summer signing Moussa Dembele showed his worth to the Celtic team by scoring an injury time that sent the club into the last round of the Champions League qualification.

Doing well in Europe is one of the main priorities for a new manager Brendan Rodgers, who has already revamped several aspects of the squad. Following a shock 1-1 draw with minnows Astana from Kazakhstan in the first leg, there was a danger of Celtic not even being able to reach the group stages of the competition. This would have been a major embarrassment for Rodgers especially in a campaign where they will be up against archrivals Rangers once again.

Celtic were thankfully saved by a last-minute penalty from summer signing Dembele. Not to be confused with the Dembele who plays for Tottenham Hotspur, the French footballer has experience of British football from his time at Fulham. He came to prominence at Paris St Germain before moving to Fulham in 2013. At just 20 years of age, he is someone with a lot of promise and Celtic are very keen on making him realise his talent. Celtic Park roared at its best when Dembele came up with the winner. Rodgers later said that he had a full faith that his players would find the decisive goal.

“The fans were unbelievable for us, but they need to show a bit of patience as well. I’m a Celtic supporter myself, I know how desperately they want it, but they put the players on edge at times tonight. Hopefully, going forward, instead of having that edginess, trust the players, trust our game-model and how we work. As you saw, eventually we can get there. In modern European football, domestic football, teams are organised,” said Rodgers. The next round will see Celtic come up against Hapoel Be'er Sheva.