Match ends, Celtic 3, Malmö FF 2.
CelticCeltic3Malmö FFMalmö FF2
A late Jo Inge Berget strike left Celtic's Champions League play-off with Malmo precariously balanced after the first leg of their tie.
A double from Leigh Griffiths and Nir Bitton's header looked like giving Celtic a foothold in the group stage.
Berget - brought to Celtic by Ronny Deila on loan last summer - had already struck one away goal to make it 2-1.
But his second, with virtually the last kick of the ball deep in stoppage time, gave the Swedes a huge boost.
Celtic will probably have to avoid defeat in Sweden if they are to return to the group stage of European football's elite competition.
A year ago they had slumped out of the Champions League during the play-off stage - and bizarrely did so not once but twice.
They were given a reprieve after defeat by Legia Warsaw, who fielded an ineligible player, but Deila's Celtic could not find a way past Maribor.
Twelve months on they look a different beast altogether, more in tune with their manager's desires and demands.
Certainly they began the match with an intensity that Malmo found impossible to live with, hounding their opponents and driven on by a raucous support that greeted Griffiths's opening goal with a huge roar.
Stuart Armstrong left Malmo defenders in his wake as he drove in from the left to lay the ball off for Stefan Johansen.
The Norwegian's first-time ball picked out the run of Griffiths perfectly and the striker coolly side-footed past the exposed Johan Wiland.
It was the first time Griffiths had been preferred in attack to Nadir Ciftci in the Champions League this season and it looked like the right call by Deila.
The furious tempo continued and when Johansen swung in a pinpoint corner for Bitton to head in from close range, Celtic looked as though they could kill off the tie in the first half.
They might have done so but Johansen fired straight at the keeper, Griffiths found the side-netting and Armstrong arrowed a shot a foot or so away from the top corner.
But scattered among those efforts, occasional lapses in concentration crept in, with Craig Gordon required to make an excellent one-handed stop to deny Vladimir Rodic.
Celtic failed to heed the warning though, and Berget punished a stray Scott Brown header by thundering a shot past Gordon from a tight angle.
The winger had previously been just as peripheral to most of the evening's action as he had during his six months as a Celtic player.
But just as Berget and Malmo grew in confidence, they were sucker-punched by a second from Griffiths.
Anton Tinnerholm failed to deal with a deep cross, knocking it into the air, allowing the stronger and more forceful Griffiths to climb above him to loop a header over Wiland and in off the far post.
That was not the end to the drama, though, as Berget pounced on a loose ball six yards out to hammer high into the net - ensuring the evening ended on a low for Celtic and setting up a tense evening in Malmo on Tuesday.
Line-ups
Celtic
Formation 4-4-1-1
- 1Gordon
- 23LustigSubstituted forAmbroseat 80'minutes
- 20Boyata
- 5van Dijk
- 3Izaguirre
- 49Forrest
- 8BrownBooked at 75mins
- 6Bitton
- 14S ArmstrongSubstituted forMackay-Stevenat 62'minutes
- 25JohansenBooked at 90mins
- 9GriffithsSubstituted forCiftciat 74'minutesBooked at 90mins
Substitutes
- 4Ambrose
- 7Ciftci
- 15Commons
- 16Mackay-Steven
- 18Rogic
- 21Mulgrew
- 26Bailly
Malmö FF
Formation 4-4-2
- 1Wiland
- 3TinnerholmBooked at 68mins
- 21Arnason
- 17Bengtsson
- 13YotúnBooked at 90mins
- 20Rodic
- 6Lewicki
- 5RakipBooked at 75minsSubstituted forSanaat 81'minutes
- 23Berget
- 19Wolff EikremSubstituted forCarvalho da Silvaat 72'minutes
- 28Djurdjic
Substitutes
- 2Konate
- 10Molins
- 11Mehmeti
- 22Sana
- 25Carvalho da Silva
- 26Vindheim
- 29Andersson
- Referee:
- Dr. Felix Brych
Match Stats
Home TeamCelticAway TeamMalmö FF
- Possession
- Home59%
- Away41%
- Shots
- Home7
- Away10
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away4
- Corners
- Home6
- Away4
- Fouls
- Home14
- Away13
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Celtic 3, Malmö FF 2.
Goal!
Goal! Celtic 3, Malmö FF 2. Jo Inge Berget (Malmö FF) right footed shot from very close range to the top right corner. Assisted by Felipe Carvalho with a headed pass following a corner.
Booking
Stefan Johansen (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
Booking
Yoshimar Yotún (Malmö FF) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Corner, Malmö FF. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
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Craig Gordon (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Kári Arnason (Malmö FF).
Booking
Nadir Ciftci (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
Post update
Foul by Nadir Ciftci (Celtic).
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Vladimir Rodic (Malmö FF) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Post update
Attempt blocked. Yoshimar Yotún (Malmö FF) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
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Delay in match Nir Bitton (Celtic) because of an injury.
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James Forrest (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Yoshimar Yotún (Malmö FF).
Post update
Gary Mackay-Steven (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Vladimir Rodic (Malmö FF).
Post update
Attempt missed. Nikola Djurdjic (Malmö FF) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right.
Post update
Foul by Stefan Johansen (Celtic).
