Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm were sent off and Feyenoord won 2–0 in the first match of Group E.
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Gustav Lagerbielke moves to Celtic
Celtic sent off Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm five minutes apart as they opened their Champions League crusade with a 2-0 defeat to Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
Calvin Stengs gave Feyenoord the lead in first-half injury time when his 30-yard free kick escaped a poor defensive wall attempt.
Joe Hart stopped a penalty after Lagerbielke earned a second yellow card and substitute Holm temporarily earned a straight red card in the 68th minute.
Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored the goal for the home team.
Centre-back Lagerbielke is one of two summer signings in Celtic’s starting line-up, with Nat Phillips ruled out with an ankle injury. The other, winger Luis Palma, made his first start for the club.
There was a lively atmosphere inside De Kuip for the first meeting between the two teams since Feyenoord’s triumph in the 1970 European Cup final and the first Champions League played at the stadium in six seasons.
Celtic took the lead over the atmosphere with a positive start and Reo Hatate had the first shot on goal after the Hoops won the ball in the most sensitive part of the park, but their effort lacked power.
Celtic continued to look comfortable and could have made more use of their property if Hatate and Daizen Maeda had been more precise with the ball at times.
The hosts rarely threatened to fall in the first half and, the only time they did, Alistair Johnston arrived to cover.
Hatate’s pass put Matt O’Riley back, but his ball to Kyogo Furuhashi was cut off and Hart made his first save in the 34th minute when he repelled Yankubah Minteh’s long-range shot.
Maeda broke away and saw a damaging attempt turned away despite a foul on the shot.
The Japanese foreigner was temporarily to blame for a counterattack in the opposite direction after preventing it in anticipation of a replay, as Johnston retained the ball, but Hart stopped Quiulindschy Hartman.
Celtic looked ready to walk into the dressing room with a clever explanation of why before O’Riley conceded a free-kick. Celtic’s wall didn’t provide much protection, especially when Furuhashi inadvertently moved away from the ball while jumping. Stengs’ shot went away from Hart, with the goalkeeper unable to hold it back despite getting his hands on it.
Palma cut in and his shot was turned away after the break before Holm came in with Yang Hyun-jun in the 58th minute.
Celtic, however, was soon reduced to 10 men. Lagerbielke had been cautioned in the first half for bringing down an opponent after his own poor control, and the Swede grabbed Igor Paixao by the throat with his arm as he tried to push the striker into the area.
Hart saved Paixao’s penalty by diving to his right.
Brendan Rodgers has signed midfielder Tomoki Iwata for Furuhashi to play alongside Liam Scales in central defence.
Celtic’s task became even more complicated when Holm issued a challenge and hit Mats Wieffer in the shin. The visitors were rightly frustrated that Bosnian referee Irfan Peljto failed to throw a clear free-kick at Scales seconds earlier, but there is little doubt about red. Resolution of the card that followed.
Stengs allowed Lutsharel Geertruida to score with the resulting free-kick, but the goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review.
However, the extra men scored in the 76th minute, when Jahanbakhsh shot high from 12 metres and the final stage was to limit the damage for Celtic.
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Gustav Lagerbielke moves to Celtic
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