FULL TIME
Goals and Highlights: CFR Cluj 1-1 Celtic, 2019 Champions League
Thank you
Thanks for joining us here for tonight's game. We should be back again next week for the return match, so if you are unable to be at the game or watch it, then there's no better place for coverage than right here at VAVEL.
Cluj not too disappointed
Not winning at home will be a blow for Cluj but they didn't really do enough to warrant the win either. They looked to be at their best on the counter-attack which is exactly what they will need to do next week. They will feel if Celtic open up at home, they can grab something.
Celtic happy enough?
The performance was poor but a 1-1 draw away from home in a two-legged European tie is always a good result. Cluj didn't look that good and Lennon will feel with the famous Parkhead crowd behind them, they can finish the job.
Full Time: Cluj 1-1 Celtic
And that's a wrap. Advantage Celtic after 90 minutes but it's still very tight.
93' Edouard breaks forward with options on both sides. The Frenchman makes a poor choice and goes alone and the keeper saves his shot.
Yellow! Bitton
92' It's a good foul from Bitton. Dokovic completely beat him but gets taken out by the Celtic man.
9
90' Edouard wins a header from a corner but he can't get it on target.
BREAKING NEWS!
Kieran Tierney has supposedly agreed on a deal to move to Arsenal. Based on this performance from Bolingoli, that is really bad news for Celtic.
Sub
87' Bitton replaces fellow Israeli Elhamed.
85' Bain gets his gloves warmed as Paun strikes a hard shot from distance. The keeper can only parry it up into the night sky and Tucudean tries an acrobatic effort but it's narrowly over the bar.
83' Celtic corner. Christie beats the first man and finds Ajer but he can only head it down and well wide.
82' Some neat play from Celtic sends Bolingoli behind the defence and he tries to square his header to Edouard but there's too much on it and the keeper gets it away.
81' Cluj get a free-kick from a position more suited for a cross but they try a shot and it's poor. Goal kick to Celtic.
78' Great chance for Cluj. Tucudean turns well in the box and gets his shot away. Ajer manages to deflect it and fortunately for the Norwegian, it drifts wide. The corner beats everyone and goes out for a throw in.
76' Edouard plays a nice flick into Forrest who is now on the left-wing and he attacks the defence but his shot is wide.
Sub
Tucudean is on for the goalscorer, Rondon.
Sub
73' Simunovic looks to have pulled something as he passes to Brown. Celtic aren't messing and bring on Jullien who had been warming up anyway.
71' Ntcham breaks away down the right and tries to create an opening for Forrest but he's crowded out and Cluj clear.
Subs
Both sides make changes as Ntcham replaces Morgan for Celtic and Paun replaces Omrani.
Yellow! Susic
That's a nasty tackle. Brown makes a pass and Susic lunges in to take him out. After a suitable roll about, he's back on his feet.
60' It's a corner for Celtic this time after a dribble from Forrest. He has easily been Celtic's best player. Christie's cross is poor again. He seems to have some problem with the first defender at these corners and continues to hit the ball at him.
59' Much of the play is occurring in midfield at the moment. Lennon will be happy enough as the minutes tick away in this away tie.
50' Corner to Cluj as Bain fails to keep a deflected cross in. The referee isn't happy with Ajer and Burca and has a word with them before the cross comes in. Cluj have a great chance as the ball hits one of their players and travels goalwards but Bain reacts quickly and Bolingoli clears.
46' Back underway.
HALF TIME: CLUJ 1-1 CELTIC
Celtic will be happy enough with that. They didn't play well but 1-1 is exactly what Lennon will have wanted.
That said, he has work to do. The team look disjointed and the gap between the back six and the front four has been huge.
43' Cluj put a good free kick in and it takes every inch of Scott Brown to get a header in to flick it out for a corner. Christie deals with the ball to the near post.
Yellow! Morgan
42' Lewis Morgan is the latest in the book as the ref deems him to have led with his arm whilst going for a header. Looked fairly innocuous.
GOAL! Cluj 1-1 Celtic
37' It's James Forrest! The winger collects the ball from Elhamed towards the edge of the box and he shifts the ball to his left foot and hits it low. It hits the post but goes into the goal and Celtic are level, possibly undeserving, but level.
Yellow! Aurelio
34' This time it's Celtic on the break. Morgan runs down the left and is brought down by Aurelio who goes in the book. It's in a dangerous area but the ball is really poor again and goes past everyone.
33' Another corner for Cluj and it flies just past Rondon and Brown clears for Celtic.
32' Rondon hits an ambitious effort and it's deflected for a corner. It's played short and ultimately wasted.
Yellow! Bolingoli
30' The Celtic man doesn't look comfortable and charges into Deac. The ref is straight out with the card.
GOAL! Cluj 1-0 Celtic
28' Straight from the corner, Cluj break. Three quick passes release Rondon and he puts it through Bain's legs. Advantage to the hosts.
27' Forrest goes close for Celtic. He is probably trying to cross but it's deflected and loops up and goes just wide. Corner is a poor one.
Yellow! Bordeianu
25' Bordeianu goes into the book for a clash with Edouard. The French striker uses his body well to hold off the Romanian who swings a boot which actually catches Edouard in the face.
24' Danger for Celtic as Omrani gets behind the line. Elhamed does well to close him down and blocks the shot but the ref doesn't see the deflection and gives a goal kick.
23' It's all a bit scrappy in the Cluj box as Christie takes a heavy touch that falls towards Morgan but the keeper comes out to kick clear and Morgan leaves the foot in and the ref gives the hosts a free-kick.
19' That's ambitious from Morgan. He shoots from miles out and the biggest impact was him kicking the ground as it dribbles wide. Wasteful.
18' Forrest earns another corner after good work from Christie. Elhamed meets the corner but his header is wayward and doesn't trouble Arlauskis in the Cluj goal.
16' The home fans scream loudly for a penalty but the referee isn't interested. The ball hit Ajer somewhere around the midsection but did it hit his hand? Ref says no so play on anyway.
12' Forrest is released down the right and beats his man but Vinicius manages to knock his cross away for a corner. Cluj manages to clear it easily though.
9' Rondon breaks down the left for Cluj but his cross is poor. However, Bolingoli clears it for a corner under no pressure. Celtic manage to clear it this time though.
6' Cluj respond with a foray into the Celtic box but Ajer intercepts. From the corner, Cluj have another chance from a free header but it's over the bar.
5' Odsonne Edouard works the keeper for the first time. He hits a good shot low and hard from about 20 yards. The keeper spills it but is able to recover.
4' Few chances early on but the home crowd are making a lot of noise.
0' We are underway.
Attacking intent from Lennon
Lennon had a few calls to make but he's stuck with the normal formation and while Johnston hasn't been selected he has put a lot of faith in Lewis Morgan who will be a direct replacement for Johnston.
The Romanian side are without their main man Emmanuel Culio as the Hoops aim to strengthen their chances of playing Champions League football.
Cluj starting XI
Cluj starting XI: Arluaskis, Burca, Luis Aurelio, Dokovic, Omrani, Deac, Susic, Bordeianu, Camora, Paulo Vinicius, Rondon.
🍀 #UCL team news ⚪️
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 7, 2019
Here's how we will line up against CFR Cluj in 🇷🇴...#CLUCEL pic.twitter.com/gogwFnhzhn
Celtic subs
Celtic subs: Gordon, Jullien, Bitton, Griffiths, Hayes, Shved, Ntcham.
Celtic starting XI
Celtic starting XI: Bain, Elhamed, Simunovic, Ajer, Bolingoli; Brown, McGregor, Christie; Forrest, Edouard, Morgan.
Team news
Good evening, the team news has just arrived and we will start with the visitors.
Who are Cluj?
Cluj were formed in 1907 but they had little to shout about other than a few lower tier titles for their first 100 years. The change began in 2002 when they were taken over and won the third tier before winning the second two years later.
In 2007, they really took things up a gear and began importing players from abroad which took them to another level domestically. They managed league and cup doubles in 2007/08 and 2009/10 which sandwiched a cup win in 2009.
They added another league title in 2012 but the club then hit financial problems and were threatened with relegation when they were deducted 24 points but the Court of Arbitration for Sports overturned that decision.
They won another cup in 2016 before another takeover in 2017 took them back to the top of the tree domestically and they have won the league title for the last two seasons.
Celtic Team News
Celtic are close to full health with everyone other than the long term injured, Kieran Tierney available. While Lennon will be happy to have almost everyone to choose from it will mean a few selection headaches.
Bain will start in goal but there are a number of possibilities in defence. Jozo Simunovic and Christopher Jullien both missed out at the weekend due to suspension but are free to play tonight. Lennon has switched between a back four and a back three already this season so even the formation is up in the air.
The most likely outcome is he will go with a back four with Ajer, Boli and Elhamed all retaining their places with either Simunovic or Jullien coming in to replace Bitton who might be considered for a place in midfield.
Brown, McGregor, Christie and Forrest are all likely to start in midfield but there's a chance Mikey Johnston could be sacrificed for a more defensive option. Bitton or Ntcham would be the most likely with Lennon probably more likely to go with Bitton. If Johnston gets dropped, the likelihood is Callum McGregor or Ryan Christie will be shifted to the left wing.
In attack, Odsonne Edouard will start. He's not as clinical as Leigh Griffiths but he's the perfect man to lead the line in an away European fixture as his hold up play is far superior to that of his Scottish team mate.
Recognisable face in charge of Cluj
Cluj's manager will be a man that many English football fans will recognise. Former Sheffield Wednesday, Chelsea, Bradford City and Southampton star Dan Petrescu is in charge of the Romanians.
Since retiring from playing in 2003, the right-back has built a successful career as a manager. He was won trophies in Romania, Russia and China including back to back league titles with Cluj.
Neil Lennon Press Conference
Neil Lennon was in a confident but cautious mood when he faced the media for his pre-match press conference. The Irishman said:
"We’re as prepared as we can be, and since Saturday, we’ve watched a lot of footage, including both of their games against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
"But it’s all on the night in terms of how we approach the game to start with. We need to be mentally strong and have good concentration.
“I’ve been clear on what we want to do in this tie, particularly away from home. It’ll be a competitive game, and both teams will want to win the tie," said Lennon.
Hatem Abd Elhamed available?
Celtic's new signing started at right-back at the weekend but had to go off with an injury. However, he trained with the team on Tuesday and is expected to be fit enough to play should Neil Lennon select him.
Losers prize
The draw was also made for the next round of the Europa League with the losers of this tie entering the Play-off Round for a place in the group stages of that tournament.
The losers of this tie will take on the winners of Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova and AIK of Sweden.
Tough test for the winner
While both sides won't want to look any further than this tie, they already know that Slavia Prague awaits the winner. Slavia had a very good season last year and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League before losing 5-3 on aggregate to eventual winners, Chelsea.
Cluj's journey so far
Cluj began their Champions League campaign with a 1-0 loss to Astana of Kazakhstan. They looked to be on their way out when they fell 1-0 down in their home leg but managed to fight back to win 3-1 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a hat-trick from Billel Omrani.
Next up was a tie against Maccabi Tel Aviv of Israel. A 1-0 win in Romania left the tie hanging in the balance but Cluj drew 2-2 in Israel to set up this tie with Celtic.
Celtic's route so far
Celtic started off in Bosnia and Herzegovina against Sarajevo. A 3-1 win in the away leg set the tone for Celtic to finish the job with a 2-1 win in the second leg to secure a comfortable 5-2 aggregate win.
Celtic's next match was against Nomme Kalju of Estonia. An easy 5-0 win in the first leg killed the tie off early before a 2-0 win in Estonia sealed a 7-0 win.
Third Qualifying Round
Despite both winning their domestic leagues, Celtic and Cluj have a long path to the lucrative Champions League group stages. They've both had to win two ties to get this far but they are only at the halfway point with the winners of this tie due to take on Slavia Prague in the Play-off Round.
Kick-off time
The CFR Cluj vs Celtic match will be played at Dr Constantin Radulescu Stadium in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The kick-off is scheduled at 19:00 BST.
Welcome
Welcome to VAVEL.com's LIVE coverage of the 2019/20 UEFA Champions League game: CFR Cluj vs Celtic!
My name is Gerry Johnston and I’ll be your host for this game. We will provide you with pre-game analysis, team updates and news as it happens here on VAVEL.