Match ends, FK Qarabag 0, Celtic 0.
FK QarabagFK Qarabag0CelticCeltic0
Celtic progressed to the Champions League play-off round as a goalless draw in Baku allowed them to complete a 1-0 aggregate win over Qarabag.
An excellent save by Craig Gordon denied Qarabag's Richard Almeida midway through the first half.
Stuart Armstrong and Stefan Johansen fired shots wide for the visitors after the break as openings remained scarce.
Ronny Deila's side are now two legs away from the group stage and will discover their opponents on Friday.
| Teams Celtic could face in play-off |
|---|
| Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) |
| Partizan Belgrade (Serbia) |
| Malmo (Sweden) |
| Skenderbeu Korce (Albania) |
| Astana (Kazakhstan) |
| Read more |
Dedryck Boyata's headed goal from the first leg sealed Celtic's seeded place in the draw, while Qarabag dropped into the Europa League play-off round.
There had been concerns about the pitch at the Tofiq Bahramov Stadium following reports the surface had been badly damaged by the heat.
However, Deila had dismissed suggestions that either the pitch or the heat in the Azerbaijan capital would hamper his side's chances.
Celtic, fielding an unchanged starting line-up from last Wednesday, absorbed pressure from the hosts in the opening half-hour but had few direct efforts at goal to deal with.
Gordon flapped at a cross and Rydell Poepon could not take advantage but the goalkeeper was much more convincing when he beat away Richard's effort.
The Brazilian lined up his left-foot shot from 22 yards and curled the ball towards the inside of Gordon's right-hand post only to be left frustrated by the Scotland international's stretching save.
In attack, the visitors were restricted to breakaways and rarely got into dangerous areas.
Nir Bitton attempted to catch Ibrahim Sehic out with an audacious shot from near the centre circle, the keeper clutching after a momentary panic.
Alharbi El Jadeyaoui tried a chip of his own early in the second half but Gordon comfortably caught the 20-yard shot.
Though Qarabag's attacking continued to stutter, Celtic became less and less able to mount meaningful advances and their passing often let them down.
However, Armstrong sought to break the malaise with a shot from the left that had power but lacked accuracy.
As the game entered its closing stages, Johansen had only Sehic to beat as he latched on to an Armstrong pass but could not hit the target.
James Forrest injected fresh pace as a replacement for Armstrong and his forceful, driving run took him clear of the Qarabag defence, but he elected to pass instead of shoot and the hosts scrambled clear.
After five minutes of stoppage time, the Celtic players were celebrating and will now contemplate the challenge of overcoming their final hurdle to the Champions League group stage.
Line-ups
FK Qarabag
Formation 4-3-3
- 13Sehic
- 18Qurbanov
- 55Huseynov
- 14Sadiqov
- 25Agolli
- 10Quintana SosaSubstituted forTagiyevat 84'minutes
- 2Garayev
- 20Almeida de Oliveira
- 67El JadeyaouiSubstituted forMammadovat 74'minutes
- 29PoeponSubstituted forIsmayilovat 64'minutes
- 9dos Santos Silva
Substitutes
- 1Valiyev
- 6Mustafayev
- 11Mammadov
- 22Ismayilov
- 32Yunuszada
- 77Tagiyev
- 91Diniyev
Celtic
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Gordon
- 23Lustig
- 20Boyata
- 5van Dijk
- 3IzaguirreBooked at 88mins
- 8Brown
- 6Bitton
- 16Mackay-StevenSubstituted forCommonsat 79'minutes
- 25JohansenBooked at 63mins
- 14S ArmstrongSubstituted forForrestat 84'minutes
- 7CiftciSubstituted forGriffithsat 67'minutes
Substitutes
- 4Ambrose
- 9Griffiths
- 15Commons
- 18Rogic
- 22Janko
- 26Bailly
- 49Forrest
- Referee:
- Martin Strömbergsson
Match Stats
Home TeamFK QarabagAway TeamCeltic
- Possession
- Home68%
- Away32%
- Shots
- Home12
- Away5
- Shots on Target
- Home2
- Away1
- Corners
- Home7
- Away1
- Fouls
- Home9
- Away16
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, FK Qarabag 0, Celtic 0.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Richard Almeida (FK Qarabag) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Elvin Mammadov.
Post update
Foul by Cavid Tagiyev (FK Qarabag).
Post update
Mikael Lustig (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Booking
Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Afran Ismayilov (FK Qarabag) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic).
Substitution
Substitution, FK Qarabag. Cavid Tagiyev replaces Dani Quintana.
Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. James Forrest replaces Stuart Armstrong.
Post update
Attempt missed. Stefan Johansen (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Stuart Armstrong.
Post update
Attempt missed. Badavi Huseynov (FK Qarabag) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Rasad F. Sadiqov following a corner.
Post update
Corner, FK Qarabag. Conceded by Dedryck Boyata.
Post update
Attempt missed. Afran Ismayilov (FK Qarabag) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ansi Agolli with a cross.
Post update
Elvin Mammadov (FK Qarabag) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Mikael Lustig (Celtic).
Substitution
Substitution, Celtic. Kris Commons replaces Gary Mackay-Steven.
Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Post update
Delay in match (FK Qarabag).
Post update
Foul by Elvin Mammadov (FK Qarabag).
