SUMMARY Celtic won 0-2 today, that's an excellent result for the Scots and it will give a massive boost to the country's coefficient. The game was mainly dominated by the home side, but Celtic had the cutting edge they didn't show in their SPL matches. 2 away wins on the trot is an achievement for the Celts in Europe, but the Bhoys should think about reducing silly mistakes. They could have been punished today and a better team in Europe would sure have taken advantadge of Celtic's defensive lapses of concentration. Neil Lennon's men travel now back to Scotland, where they will face Inverness Caley Thistle this weekend in their second trip up north in a week. Ross County nearly stunned Celtic and Terry Butcher's men will no doubt try to hurt Celtic from start to finish. See you on Saturday and enjoy your night out after a fine European away win!
90+3' Final whistle. Celtic have won away from Europe for the second time in a month, and achievement considering their previous away form. The tie is far from over, but today's game was a massive step in order to get the Champions League back to Celtic Park.
90+2' Corner for Helsingborg, their last chance to score a goal. Once again they foul a Celtic player and the danger disappears.
90' Added time: 3 minutes. Helsingborg press and Celtic are tracking down a lot now, they are sitting really deep now to preserve the two goal lead.
90' Corner for Helsingborgs. Forster punches the ball out of danger. We are already on added time.
89' It's game over for Commons, he walks out of the pitch to be replaced by Tony Watt.
88' Helsingborgs IF stop their attack as Kris Commons looks injured. The home fans boo him angrily.
87' Great work from Celtic down the right wing. A pass back is fiercely shooted by Mulgrew with his right foot. It hits the crossbar. So close to the third goal now.
86' Good stuff again from Celtic. James Forrest runs inside Helsingborgs box and his shot is saved by Hansson.
85' Forster is fouled in the box again. Costless kick for Celtic. If they hold on their lead they will be as closest as they have not been in years to the CL group stages.
83' Celtic concede a corner. The hosts look to score a goal that would give them live for the second leg in Glasgow.
80' Celtic are moving the ball well now. The Swedes look desperate, this second goal has been a hammering blow for them.
78' Samaras runs from his own half and misses the target by a few inches. What a chance for the Greek! He was the hero at Helsinki, and he has brought calm to the Celts today too!
75' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLL!!! SAMARASS SCOOOOORESSSS!!! The Greek heads the ball home after some cross by Kris Commons. Injustice there for the hosts, they created lots of chances and have been severly punished with Celtic's only real attempts.
72' Uronen crosses from the left and Bedoya heads towards Celtic's goal. Forster saves comfortably.
70' Commons shoots from distance. Easy save for the home keeper. It's been a quiet game for him so far.
69' Mulgrew is fouled after some run in the middle of the park.
66' Glorious chance for Acca as he runs towards the ball after a fine assist from Bedoya. He shoots waaay off target. Celtic are deeper now.
65' Wilson on for Joe Ledley. Mulgrew will play in midfield now.
63' Corner for the home team after another costless kick from the right hand side was cleared. Sorum fouls Forster on the build up so no danger for Celtic. Change, Sorum is off and Álvaro is on. Meanwhile, Kelvin Wilson is prepared to get on for Celtic.
62' Wahlstedt is replaced by Titi. The costless kick is easily saved by Fraser Forster.
61' Yellow card for Thomas Rogne after he handles a ball. Foul in a dangerous position, just in front of the penalty box.
60' Another attempt, this time Sorum shots from distance. Once again, out left. The Helsingborgs fans boo Forster for his time wasting.
58' Benquerença signals a foul on Izaguirre from former Ger Bedoya. The Olympia Stadium fans look far from impressed with that decision. Helsingborgs have most of the posession while Celtic look to cause a shock with Forrest's pace at the counter.
56' Corner for Celtic after James Forrest is disposessed by Uronen. Joe Ledley heads the ball close to Helsingborgs goal, just over the crossbar.
55' Celtic pass the ball well and their movement finished with a shot from distance by James Forrest. Off target. Helsingborgs attack ends in another shot from Mahlangu, like the previous ones, it causes no danger to Fraser Forster.
53' Some rash tackles from the home side end up in a yellow card for Ardian Gashi after a foul on Joe Ledley.
51' Andersson shots from outside Celtic's penalty box. Inches away from the left post.
50' Mahlangu shots from distance after some good passing from the home side. Forster saves comfortably.
48' Some slack passing by Celtic has ended with some promising counter-attacks. An improvement on their final touch is needed.
46' The game is underway again! Celtic are in possession, but they lose it easily after a long ball that ends in Hansson's arms. James Forrest has been introduced in the place of Beram Kayal.
20:39 In a positive mood, Celtic have been clinical today, they have buried their only chance in the game. Commons has scored his 3rd goal in 4 official games.
20:36 Celtic will have to cut off the unforced mistakes if they want to preserve their lead. They are giving too many space to the Swedish midfielders. We have to remember that Hooper's pressing lead to Commons goal, so the Bhoys will have to press more up in the pitch during the second half in order to avoid Helsingborgs dangerous attacks.
HALF TIME Celtic are obtaining an excellent result right now, but the result is really flattering them. The Swedes could have (at least) equalised in several chances. Bedoya, Djurdjic or Mahlangu could have changed the game, but Forster and Matthews denied them the goal. Celtic win 0-1, but Neil Lennon's team will have plenty of questions to answer during the half time break. Age Hareide's deffensive approach hasn't appeared in this game, where their team have easily dominated during large spells. Let's see what happens in the second 45 minutes.
45' Added time: one minute. Celtic are crying out for half time. They are losing lots of balls in front of their penalty box.
42' Celtic's attacks are dying so fast. They are attacking with far too few players and are creating no danger. The Swedes look dangerous every time they cross into Celtic's box. Mulgrew and Rogne are being strong in the air though.
40' Gashi shoots from distance. Way off target.
39' No danger after a foul is made on Scott Brown while an attacking player tried to head the ball.
38' Helsingborgs win a corner after Izaguirre is disposessed. Naive mistake from the Honduran.
36' Celtic control possession to waste some time. Brown is finally fouled after a string of good passes.
34' Forster receives a yellow card for time-wasting.
33' Kayal loses a ball in the box and Djurdjic almost punishes Celtic with a good shot. It goes out wide, off target.
32' 50-50 possession, but Helsingborgs have looked more dangerous with the ball so far.
30' A header from Bedoya is not far away from Celtic's goal, he headed a cross from outside of the box. It's the American's second chance.
29' Celtic clear the ball but it remains in Helsingborgs control.
27' Mulgrew gives away a foul in at the right hand side of Celtic's box. He is shown a yellow card.
23' Vital recovery from Matthews to avoid Helsingborgs' equaliser. The Welshman lost a crucial ball but managed to get it from Mahlangu. The South African will regret that chance if they don't win.
20' What a chance for Sorum! Some neat passing in front of the box and Sorum is one on one versus Forster. The English keeper somehow manages to parry the ball away from danger. Celtic are still in front thanks to the former Newcastle goalkeeper, that's for sure.
17' The Swedes have large spells of possession while Celtic are deffending with lots of players now. Hooper is isolated up front. Counter-attacking football is the way to get a second goal now.
14' Clear chance from Bedoya after a sloppy ball from Rogne. The American's shot is saved by Forster and cleared away by Celtic's defenders.
12' Helsingborgs get a chance after Mulgrew loses a ball after miscontrolling it. Djurdjic's low shot is stopped by Fraser Forster. Celtic could be punished if they commit mistakes like these...
10' Good cross from Matthews but Samaras fails to head it. Just a few inches away of stunning Helsingborgs IF again...
8' Ledley commits a foul at the right hand side of Celtic's box. Good cross from Andersson, but no one heads it ... Goal kick for Celtic.
6' Samaras tries to dribble two defenders but he concedes possession easily.
4' Andersson takes a costless kick from the left hand side of Celtic's box. It's headed out by the defensive line. No danger for Celtic. The Bhoys are now singing louder than anyone at the Olympia Stadium.
3' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!! COMMOOOONS SCORESSSS!!!!! What a way to start the match. Samaras crosses from the left and Commons volley beats Hansson!! The vital away goal is already here. 0-1 Celtic.
2' Hooper chases a long ball from Mulgrew but it goes out. Goal kick for the Swedes.
1' And the game is underway! Possession for Helsingborgs IF, both sets of fans are chanting, specially the local ones.
19:42. One more statistic, Celtic have not been beaten in their three last outings away from Europe (1-1 at Rennes and Udine, and 0-2 at Helsinki's turf).
19:40. Great football environment in Helsingborgs' stadium. It looks like a footballing party up in Sweden today.
19:37. Since 2003, Celtic have won three games away from home, 0-4 against MTK Hungaria, 0-2 against Dynamo Moscow and 0-2 against HJK Helsinki. Will they add another European away win today? They will need to defend well during the first 20 minutes and hope their trips up front are successful.
19:30. This interesting article explains us some of the weaknesses Celtic should exploit today. According to Magnus Sjöholm, the Swedish journalist who wrote it, the Swedes are weak at set plays and are pretty vulnerable in the air.
19:25. Celtic knocked out Helsinki 4-1 on aggregate, after two hard fought victories. Wanyama was dismissed in the returning leg, that's why he is suspended today. He will be a massive asset to have at Celtic Park.
19:21. Helsingborgs IF arrived to this stage after beating TNS 3-0 on aggregate and Polish opposition Slask Wroclaw 6-1 on aggregate. They scored three goals in each home match, a number of goals Neil Lennon's men will try not to concede today.
19:14. Celtic's players trained yesterday at the match's venue.
19:12. Celtic's bench will include Lennoxtown's products like James Forrest or Tony Watt. Subs: Zaluska, Wilson, Lustig, Chalmers, McCourt, Forrest, Watt.
19:10. The locals play with a 4-4-2 with their recent signed striker up front along Sörum, the team's top goalscorer in this Champions League edition. His record is quite impressive: 5 goals in as many games. Former Rangers midfielder Alejandro Bedoya is in the starting lineup too after his goalscoring debut against Elfsborg.
19:09. Celtic switch from their usual formation to a 4-5-1/4-3-3 with Hooper upfront. Commons and Samaras will try to link up with him from the wings and will track down to defensive positions when it's needed. The Scottish international has already played in a costless role just behind the striker in away European games this season.
19:07. Helsingborgs IF's lineup will be: Hansson,Wahlstedt, Atta, Sadiku, Uronen;Bedoya, Gashi, Mahlangu, Andersson; Sörum, Durdjic.
19:05. Celtic's lineup today: Forster, Matthews, Rogne, Mulgrew, Izaguirre; Commons, Brown, Ledley, Kayal, Samaras; Hooper.
19:00. Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, Bhoys and girls. Celtic's adventure in the top clubs competition in Europe continues this afternoon. In 45 minutes we will have both teams playing the first leg of this final qualifying round. One of them will be in the group stages draw at the end of August. Celtic look for a place there for the first time in four years after some disappointing failures. Helsingborgs IF want to achieve the Champions League group stages after more than ten years without Swedish teams there. Celtic's season has had four official games so far and they haven't lost a game (yet), they haven't been really convincing, specially in front of goal, though. Are they close to finish with their European away games hoodoo? Or was the game in Helsinki just an oasis in the middle of a tortuous desert? Will Scottish football advance with Celtic's tales in the Champions League? Or will this be the final nail on the Scots' game coffin? We will start to know the answer to some of this questions in less than an hour. Stay tuned!