Celtic manager Neil Lennon asked for another goal-scoring performance prior to this game and that is exactly what he got as Celtic cruised into the Europa League group stages with an impressive 4-1 away win on the night in Stockholm.

Celtic started with intensity, employing a high-press style from the start but it would be AIK who would have the first major chance of the game. Kolbeinn Sigthorsson providing what would prove to be a major wake up call for Celtic, hitting the post and narrowly missing from the edge of the box after some poor goalkeeping from Celtic Goalkeeper Craig Gordon.

Celtic then suffered a major blow when centre-back Kristoffer Ajer picked up an injury in the 15th minute. The Norwegian looked to be in a considerable amount of pain in what was alarming scenes for the Celtic fans before being replaced by Anthony Ralston.

However despite AIK’s good attacking start and having a chance through Sebastian Larsson blocked just minutes later, Celtic took a crucial lead in the 17th minute, James Forrest who is quickly becoming Celtic’s big-game player, firmly placing his shot beyond the reach of AIK Goalkeeper Oscar Linner after an exquisite lofted pass from Celtic Striker Odsonne Edouard.

AIK would get a lifeline around 15 minutes later after Celtic left-back Boli Bolingoli clumsily brought down Seb Larsson in the box who subsequently converted the penalty calmly past Craig Gordon.

Celtic would not give AIK any time to recover defensively from the restart as young winger Mikey Johnston went on an outstanding run, with tremendous footwork and skill to get past 2 AIK defenders before his low driven cross was fumbled into the AIK goal by Linner just moments after the equaliser, restoring Celtic’s 1 goal advantage on the night and effectively killing the tie as a contest with AIK now needing 4 goals to progress.

Odsonne Edouard hit the post soon after and Ryan Christie almost made it 3-1 on the stroke of half time as AIK struggled to cope with the attacking intensity of the Celtic front 4. Celtic went into half time 2-1 up on the night and found themselves almost cruising into the group stages of the Europa League as AIK struggled to find any real attacking solution.

In contrast to the first half, Celtic struggled to start the second half with the same intensity and very nearly found themselves a second, Chinedu Obasi finding himself in plenty of space after driving past the helpless Anthony Ralston only for Nir Bitton to make a crucial clearance. A second real wake-up call for Celtic as they continued to soak up the pressure of AIK’s direct style of play.

Obasi then missed yet another golden opportunity with 20 Minutes to go, a brilliant cross by Seb Larsson evading the Celtic backline only for Obasi to miss what seemed like the perfect inviting opportunity. Celtic then brought on Lewis Morgan for Mikey Johnston before star striker Odsonne Edouard was unable to continue in more alarming scenes for Celtic fans. Vakoun Issouf Bayo would be Edouard’s replacement and the last Celtic substitute.

AIK brought on Heradi Rashidi in the 80th minute in one last attempt at achieving what would ultimately be a consolation goal but ultimately it was too little too late. Celtic would then add two more goals late in the game to secure their passage into the group stages for the second year in a row.

£7 Million Summer signing centre-back Christopher Jullien scored his first goal for Celtic, a scruffy tap in from 3 yards resulting from AIK’s poor defensive organisation from set-pieces and in added time Lewis Morgan also scored his first goal for Celtic, a header from an excellent James Forrest cross following some more excellent combination play by Vakoun Issouf Bayo.

The full-time whistle blew and as the AIK players collapsed to the ground in despair, the Celtic players rejoiced and celebrated with the travelling support and staff as Celtic made light work of the Swedish champions on their own turf in what was a very promising performance ahead of the upcoming Old Firm Derby at Ibrox on Sunday.

Takeaways from the match

AIK are limited:

On paper many expected AIK to be a tougher test than Cluj for Celtic but over the course of the two legs despite plenty of heart, grit and determination they ultimately didn’t have the touch of quality and finesse needed to get past a Celtic side used to success over the previous few seasons. Their 3-5-2 direct playing style harked back to an old-school style of football more commonly seen in the late ’90s which ultimately played into Celtic’s fast-paced, dynamic attacking style. Wide areas are particularly a problem for AIK with Mikey Johnston always looking to exploit the gaps on AIK’s right side.

James Forrest is Celtic’s big-game player

Time and time again James Forrest delivers when Celtic need him the most. For years Celtic fans were disappointed with the wingers’ inconsistency, between injuries and a lack of form under Ronny Deila Celtic fans weren’t entirely convinced he would become a regular starter never mind a player capable of winning games on his own. Some recent examples include the late winner against Rangers at Celtic Park last season and even this season he scored a vital away goal against Cluj away despite Celtic’s collapse at home. A dynamic winger with pace, power and versatility Forrest is certainly a player that excites Celtic fans and is one to watch this season.

Ralston won’t make it at Celtic

Anthony Ralston is a Celtic academy graduate and given the success of fellow academy graduate Kieran Tierney Celtic fans wanted and almost expected Ralston to follow in a similar vein and become another homegrown hero. Unfortunately, Ralston will almost certainly not make it at Celtic given his underwhelming performances. He has passion and determination but he lacks the quality of cross, positional sense and technical ability. Muscle mass and work rate can only take you so far and given his horror show last night it is expected that this would be his last game for Celtic.

Stand out player

Mikey Johnston, this could have gone one of three ways but Johnston’s determination to try something creative and his confidence to use his technical ability to come up with different attacking solutions were refreshing to watch and based on his performance last night provides Celtic fans with plenty of encouragement for the future.

Conclusion

Neil Lennon sent his team out to attack which is almost atypical for a Celtic side away in Europe but this relentless approach paid off as their fast-paced expansive football ultimately proved too much for an AIK side who just couldn’t cope with the pace and skill in the Celtic side. Lennon has done reasonably well to restore calm after a disastrous 4-3 collapse at home to Cluj in the previous qualifying round of the Champions League however the real test will come at Ibrox on Sunday against bitter rivals Rangers but they can take pride in achieving qualification for the group stages of the Europa League for the second season in a row. For AIK their focus turns to their domestic campaign and their ongoing title race against Djurgarden.