Celtic took down Linfield 2-0 in a Champions League qualifier on Friday. On Saturday, the Bhoys turned right back around and had a previously scheduled friendly with French side Olympic Lyon.
Let’s just say one side took the match a bit more serious than the other. Olympic Lyon downed the Hoops 4-0 in the friendly, but that was likely to be expected given the circumstances surrounding this matchup.
Celtic put out a changed side from its usual firepower. I mean, Nir Bitton was somehow a starting center back in the contest.
Names like Hill and Kristof Ajer were also seen on the backline. Sure, there was a little used Moussa Dembele left over from the night before, but more on that in a bit.
Amazingly, this group held up well in the first half, with debutants Olivier Ntcham and Kundai Benyu impressing in the first half of action. Both were subbed off after the first 45 minutes, but that was by design than anything they weren’t doing well.
Manager Brendan Rodgers singled both out for praise in his post-match comments.
"“He has surprised me to be honest. I knew he was a good player. You see what we are trying to build here in players who are technically gifted but they have to have good mobility and physicality, and he has that.“He has come in and played with a nice little edge. He’s competitive and he has confidence. We played him off the side where he can come in and help the team dominate the ball on the inside.”"
Benyu stepped in to a front three that featured himself on the left wing and Dembele along with Jonny Hayes opposite of him. It was Benyu’s effort in the first half that nearly put Celtic on the scoreboard and with the lead.
However, his effort was stopped literally on the line and
As for the other debutant? It appears Ntcham is likely going to be a fixture for the club going forward, with this match all about helping him get back in to match fitness according to Rodgers’ post-match words.
"“For Olivier, it’s only fitness. You see how he moved in the game today – he could have played for them. He has the qualities to play at the very highest level.“His range of passing makes the game look very simple – he can play it short and long, and he can dribble and shoot. He has everything to be a top level No.8.“It’s just timing for him really. That was his first game and 60 minutes was enough for him today and he will build up his fitness over the course of the next few weeks. When he’s ready he will be a big player for us.”"
With a 4-0 scoreline going against the Bhoys in this one, some would be alarmed given the step up in competition from the visitors to Paradise. But, the reality of the situation is that the group that is going to fill out most of the squad held up well against Lyon, and it was only wholesale changes to the depths of Celtic’s squad that gave us the scoreline we saw.
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Chalk it up as a learning experience for some fringe players and move on, because that is about all this match and in this situation were all about. The good news is that it appears Celtic has hit once again on the transfer market and we should see an impact from both Ntcham and Benyu on the pitch.