Celtic have begun their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw against Red Star in Belgrade.
Kelechi Iheanacho opened the scoring in the 57th minute but Celtic were pegged back quickly, with Marko Arnautovic equalising less than ten minutes later.
Brendan Rodgers had opted to make just two changes from the side that defeated Partick Thistle on Sunday, with Kasper Schmeichel returning in goal and Daizen Maeda starting as the central forward.
Red Star enjoyed the better of the first half, with Celtic regularly misplacing passes and Maeda struggling to see much of the ball or find space behind the home defence. Cameron Carter-Vickers had two opportunities from set pieces towards the end of the half but couldn’t test Matheus in the Red Star goal.
Though the hosts looked calm in possession, they weren’t able to find the target despite promising build-up play and the teams went in scoreless at the break.
Rodgers switched things up in attack, bringing Iheanacho on for Maeda and seeing an instant change. Benjamin Nygren put a shot right into Matheus’ arms after a clever cut-back from Kieran Tierney and the Swede then set up Iheanacho, who was denied by the goalkeeper.
The striker was not to be denied and got his goal in the 55th minute. Nygren played a low pass into the box, Iheanacho turned and hit an unstoppable finish past Matheus in the Red Star goal.
The lead didn’t last, and Red Star levelled just under ten minutes later. The Celtic defence was slow to react after a corner when Tebo Uchenna pounced on a loose ball and put in a low cross that Marko Arnautovic stabbed over the line.
The home side pushed forward in search of a winner, and Schmeichel was called on more than once to prevent them scoring, with a save from Mirko Ivanic the most notable. Despite plenty of possession in the wide areas and a string of crosses, they were thwarted by the Celtic defence.
The final whistle saw both sides having to settle for a point from the first of eight League Phase fixtures.
Next up for Celtic in the competition is a home match against Braga on October 2.
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