UEFA Europa League
Play-off Round, Second Leg
Friends Arena, Stockholm
Thursday, August 22, 2019

AIK… 1
(Larsson 33 pen)

CELTIC… 4

(Forrest 17, Johnston 34, Jullien 87, Morgan 90+2)

(Celtic win 6-1 on aggregate)

CELTIC progressed to the group-stages of the UEFA Europa League this evening (Thursday) after a comprehensive 4-1 win (6-1 on aggregate) over AIK in Stockholm.

Having scored twice at Paradise last week, James Forrest put Neil Lennon’s men in front on the night, before Seb Larsson drew level from the spot. Less than one minute later, Mikey Johnston restored the visitors’ lead, before two late goals from Christopher Jullien and Lewis Morgan capped off a confident display.

Chasing the first leg’s two-goal deficit, the home side pressed Celtic from the outset and carved the first clear-cut chance of the evening when, after two minutes, Sigthorsson hit the post on the well-taken volley.

From there, AIK continued to push Neil Lennon’s men into their own half, but some resolute defending across the Hoops’ backline confidently dealt with the threat.

On seven minutes, Johnston was responsible for Celtic’s first half-chance of the match, when he drove at the AIK defence, before the home side cleared their lines. After taking a knock ahead of the 15-minute mark, Kris Ajer was forced to retire early and was replaced by Anthony Ralston.

Two minutes after that, and the Scottish champions broke the deadlock when Edouard picked out Forrest from the right flank. Bursting into the penalty area, the winger took the sweetest of touches inside away from his man, before firing the ball high into the roof of the net with his left.

A handful of rough tackles from the home side followed, as they sought to unsettle Celtic – now with a commanding 3-0 aggregate lead. The Hoops however defended with typical levelheadedness, with Nir Bitton particularly comfortable despite picking up a booking along the way.

Just over the half-hour mark, Bolingoli came together off the ball with Larsson in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Larsson duly levelled on the night, but Celtic remained in pole position by virtue of their away goal.

Nevertheless, the Hoops’ response to the dubious penalty came just one minute later, when Johnston followed some wonderful footwork down the inside-left channel with a low ball battered across goal that AIK stopper Linner spilled into his net.

Celtic saw out the first period with some neat possession play, as they contained AIK with their own high press, whereas after the break, Craig Gordon was called into action with a fine stop with his feet on 47 minutes.

At the opposite end, Forrest had a by-line cut-back cleared at the near post, before Edouard and Johnston had half-chances cleared inside the penalty area.

Over the hour-mark, Celtic passed the ball around with confidence as they guarded their 4-1 aggregate lead. AIK, now in search of four goals against the Hoops’ away goal advantage, retreated deeper and deeper in defence – testament to the visitors’ discipline and structure, as they pushed the tie beyond the Swedish champions’ reach.

Inside the remaining quarter of an hour, the tempo of the match slowed considerably, with Neil Lennon introducing Lewis Morgan and Bayo in place of Johnston and Edouard respectively.

The latter was unfortunate not to extend Celtic’s lead with five minutes of normal time remaining, when he unleashed a fine effort from 18-yards that Linner forced out for a corner. Christie recycled the loose ball from the set-piece to cut-back for Jullien who, after coming together with Scott Brown, got the last touch to claim his side’s third of the night.

Deep into added time, Forrest hit the right by-line with typically flair and directness before chipping the ball onto the head of Morgan who duly bagged the fourth of the evening and the sixth of the tie.

Overall, a comprehensive and routine win for Neil Lennon’s men to claim their place in the group-stages of the UEFA Europa League. Now, the Scottish champions await the group-stage draw tomorrow (Friday) afternoon, before turning their attention to Sunday’s Glasgow derby at Ibrox.

AIK: Linner; Granli, Karlsson, Mets; Lundstrom, Larsson, Adu, Bahoui (Hussein 62), Jonsson; Obasi, Sightorsson (Goitom 62)
Subs not used: Dimitriadis, Lindkvist, Elyounoussi, Janosevic, Rashidi

CELTIC: Gordon; Ajer (Ralston 15), Jullien, Bitton, Bolingoli; Brown, McGregor, Forrest, Christie, Johnston (Morgan 70); Edouard (Bayo 76)
Subs not used: Hazard, Hayes, Hayes, Griffiths

Website Man of the Match: James Forrest

Celtic qualify for UEFA Europa League after confident AIK win