Thursday night was an interesting one for Celtic, as they found themselves facing a rather rusty FC Kobenhaven team who have only just started their regular season.
It showed in the first half, as Neil Lennon’s men dominated, but the second part of the game was a different story, as the Danes came back out with a new determination and could have won the game had Jens Stage not missed a penalty in the 79th minute.
We decided to have a look at the reaction in Denmark following the game, and, to be honest, they’re pretty pleased with how things went overall, especially after how the game started.
Still, Ekstra Bladet journalist Allan Olsen felt the first 45 minutes were a ‘regular insult’ to the FCK fans, and it was a ‘minor miracle’ that Celtic were only 1-0 up after 14 minutes.
Much of the focus was on the Danish side’s performance, but the general consensus is that Celtic are ‘favourites to move on’ after the local side were ‘not ready to attend the party’ set up by the return of European football to their ground.
Ekstra Bladet write ‘it was clear the Scots had rhythm and confidence after victories in the last nine games’, but they were ‘put under pressure’ in the second half.
There was some praise for the first ever use of VAR in Denmark, as they feel it ‘worked to perfection’ as the penalty for Ryan Christie’s handball was ‘properly sentenced’, even if Stage failed to find the back of the net from it.
Politiken say the 1-1 draw ‘sparks hope’ that FCK can do better next week, albeit in one of Europe’s ‘hardest stadiums to conquer’ in Parkhead.
