It was a night to remember for Irish players in the Champions League, as both Liam Scales and Adam Idah scored in Celtic's riotous opening-night win.
The Hoops hosted Slovan Bratislava in Glasgow on Wednesday night, as the good and great of European football familiarise themselves with the new "Swiss" tournament format.
The hosts were in ruthless form against Slovan, on top from minute one. It would not take long for them to take the lead, with Ireland international Liam Scales heading home after 17 minutes for his first Champions League goal.
⚽ Celtic 1-0 Slovan Bratislava 🏆
Celtic lead at half-time thanks to a goal from Republic of Ireland international Liam Scales
📱 Updates: https://t.co/8jee6RxW6K
📺 Live on @RTE2 and @RTEPlayer#ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/FLOfZeUVPP— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 18, 2024
Celtic motored on after the break, with the attack electric on a memorable night at Parkhead.
Kyogo, Arne Engels, and Daizen Maeda all got in on the act and, even though Kevin Wimmer pulled one back, Celtic had the last laugh.
Scales' header had been the first Irish goal in the Champions League since 2011 - another would follow a little over an hour later, with substitute Adam Idah firing home in the dying moments for his first European goal for Celtic.
Full-time: Celtic 5-1 Slovan Bratislava 🏆
Ireland striker Adam Idah puts the icing on the cake for Celtic
📺 Reaction on @RTE2 and @RTEPlayer#ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/oOn2Iaj2nc— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 18, 2024
Wednesday's thrashing marks the first time Celtic have won their opening game since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1992 and is the latest positive step for the team since the return of Brendan Rodgers as manager last summer.
The new format this season should help teams like Celtic reach the knockout stages, with the Scottish champions enjoying an extra home game on top of the extra qualification spots on offer.
With only eight teams to be eliminated after the group phase, there is a great chance that Celtic will at least reach the last 16 playoffs, especially after Wednesday's emphatic statement win.
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Joe Hart believes things are looking up for Celtic
With tougher tests against the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, and Aston Villa still to come, Celtic fans might be forgiven for taking Wednesday's victory with a pinch of salt.
However, Joe Hart explained on BBC's Champions League highlights show why he sees big things in Celtic's future - mainly thanks to the man in charge.
Hart retired at the end of last season after three seasons in Glasgow, with the English keeper playing under both Brendan Rodgers and his predecessor Ange Postecoglou. Speaking on Match of the Day on Wednesday, Hart said that he felt Rodgers had installed an understanding of what it means to play for Celtic in his players, and that things could only "get better" from here for the Scottish side.
Brendan came in and there were a few murmurs, it was his second tenure at the club.
Ange Postecoglou had really laid his stamp. We've seen now down in England and with Tottenham, what a feeling he has with the fans. That wasn't lost on the Celtic faithful, we played some incredible football under him.
Brendan came in and it was a tough role to take over. You know what I love about him...he just took his time. He understood that we'd been well-drilled under the Ange Postecoglou regime, we had ways of playing, people had certain triggers which you couldn't just erase.
He slowly worked his way...I personally wasn't quite sure - 'Is he gonna put his stamp on this?' Four, three months to go, Brendan stepped up, let everyone know what it meant to be a Celtic player. All of a sudden, the little tweaks, the minor changes...they complimented what a great job Ange had done, just putting his spin on it.
We really felt it as players.
I think, pre-season goes really well, next thing you know the season starts incredibly well, favourable draw in the Champions League, a night like this...it's just gonna get better.
Celtic fans will certainly hope Joe Hart's assessment is correct.
Their next assignment in the Champions League comes in two weeks with an away day against last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund. Any form of result there could well have the Celtic fans giddy about their prospects in this year's tournament.
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