3 Upshots from Celtic vs. Zenit

2 of 4

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – FEBRUARY 15: Callum McGregor of Celtic and Miha Mevlja of Zenit St. Petersburg during UEFA Europa League Round of 32 match between Celtic and Zenit St Petersburg at the Celtic Park on February 15, 2018 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) /

1) First ten minutes set the tone for the first half, and probably the rest of the game

A whole lot happened in the first ten of this fixture. Celtic spent a lot of time in the Zenit half with chances pouring on for the Bhoys.

Crossing was huge here for both teams, but Celtic really had the advantage in the category and it all started early on. Early inter-play from Kieran Tierney down the far wing allowed Olivier Ntcham to send a ball back to the young defender, who ripped an early shot.

Moussa Dembele found himself in the midfield, which allowed more room for Ntcham and others to go in on goal.

Zenit did find some momentum back near the halfway point of the 20 minute mark, but it really was all Celtic for the rest of the first half. Give a lot of credit to Dorus de Vries for making a brilliant save on Anton Zabolotny near the 12th minute.

That’s the celtic we love 💚. Get that goal boys you deserve it bossing it 😎😎
— Paddy (@paddy9990) February 15, 2018

Ntcham and McGregor made up for a lot of the attempted shots and crossing for the first 30 minutes, and boy did they prove their worth in this one. Which brings us to the next point.

Home/Celtic FC News