Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Celtic will go into the second leg of their Champions League 3rd Qualifying Round tie with the slight advantage thanks to a late Leigh Griffiths equaliser against FC Astana. The Kazkahstan side took an early lead and were on top for large moments of the game, for Brendan Rodgers it was a case of deja vu as his side went behind for the second time in his three competitive matches as manager.
But unlike when in Gibraltar his side managed to come away with a positive result as Griffiths slotted home from inside the area to give Celtic that all important away goal going into next week’s return match.
In the play-off route of the competition Fenerbahce got the better of Monaco last night, that was mainly down to a Emmanuel Emenike brace. The Nigerian scoring either side of a Falcao strike. With Falcao back at his parent club after two miserable Premier League loan spells, could this be the season where he finally finds that devestating form that he displayed at Atletico Madrid.
In the champions route last night saw Rosenborg get the better of Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia. The Norwegian champions take a 2-1 lead into the second leg but the APOEL will no doubt fancy their chances as they have an away goal to bring back to Cyprus.
FC Copenhagen who demolished Crusaders in the previous round were held by FC Astra Girugiu. After finding the net with ease in the previous round they could only manage a 1-1 draw.
While on Tuesday night saw Irish Champions Dundalk edged out 1-0 by Belarus’ BATE Borisov. A creditable result though that gives Dundalk some hope of progression.
Here is a full run down of the results
| Team 1 | Agg. | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Champions Route | |||||
Rosenborg  |
 APOEL |
2–1 | 2 Aug | ||
Dinamo Zagreb  |
 Dinamo Tbilisi |
2–0 | 2 Aug | ||
Olympiacos  |
 Hapoel Be’er Sheva |
0–0 | 3 Aug | ||
Astana  |
 Celtic |
1–1 | 3 Aug | ||
Trenčín  |
 Legia Warsaw |
0–1 | 3 Aug | ||
Viktoria Plzeň  |
 Qarabağ |
0–0 | 2 Aug | ||
Astra Giurgiu  |
 Copenhagen |
1–1 | 3 Aug | ||
BATE Borisov  |
 Dundalk |
1–0 | 2 Aug | ||
Ludogorets Razgrad  |
 Red Star Belgrade |
2–2 | 2 Aug | ||
Partizani Tirana  |
 Red Bull Salzburg |
0–1 | 3 Aug | ||
| League Route | |||||
Ajax  |
PAOK |
1–1 | 3 Aug | ||
| Sparta Prague |
Steaua București |
1–1 | 3 Aug | ||
Shakhtar Donetsk  |
 Young Boys |
2–0 | 3 Aug | ||
Rostov  |
 Anderlecht |
2–2 | 3 Aug | ||
Fenerbahçe  |
 Monaco |
2–1 | 3 Aug | ||
