CELTIC ....................1 (Griffiths 30)

BARCELONA..........3 (Turan 11, Ambrose og 31, Munir 40)

The sweeping stands of the impressive Aviva stadium justifiably cause a tremor of anxiety for any vertiginous punter. Celtic, though, can ill-afford to suffer a nosebleed this season as they seek to scale European heights that have eluded them for the past two seasons.

They went toe-to-toe with a Barcelona side who are gently easing their way back into their boots last night in Dublin, the kind of challenge the Parkhead side are eager to sample for real when the group stages of the UEFA Champions League gets underway.

The thing, is, however, going any distance without the proper resources inevitably leads to complications. And Celtic’s current defensive frailties suggest that if they are serious about making their mark this term on a European landscape that has eluded them of late, there is a requirement for the correct equipment.

This one was always going to tough against an impressive Barcelona side, match sharp or not, but it was a task made all the more arduous when Celtic reverentially stood off of Arda Touran, allowing the player to casually open the scoring, with a sumptuous 20-yard strike after just 11 minutes.

The lampooning of Efe Ambrose has long since passed the stage where it is as difficult to watch as his on-field displays. Continuing with the Nigerian internationalist seems like an act of gratuitous cruelty – for supporters as well as the defender himself. Ambrose netted an own-goal seconds after Leigh Griffiths had restored parity in this game and was then culpable at the third when Luis Suarez, who last just over an hour of this contest, put the ball through his legs to give Munir the easy task of tapping the ball into the net.

With Erik Sviatchenk, Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic currently sharing a treatment room at Lennoxtown and Kolo Toure in a race against the clock to have some form of match fitness ahead of Wednesday’s second leg, third round UEFA Champions League qualifier against FC Astana, there are significant issues for Brendan Rodgers to get his head around.

On this showing against a Barcelona side who opened their pre-match schedule in Dublin, Rodgers’ thinking on the team he has inherited would have been confirmed; they remain one-dimensional at times and that carelessness at the back, that lack of concentration will be deadly against teams who are swift of feet and mind.

Celtic’s best passages of play came from Patrick Roberts, with the 19-year-old winger capable of making the kind of movement that allowed the Parkhead side to fashion a couple of decent chances in the opening period. The winger gave the Catalan side a sharp wake-up call just 17 seconds into the game when he sent an effort whizzing past the post and in this kind of company he did his burgeoning reputation no harm at all.

Griffiths benefitted from a moment of madness in the Barca defence when Jose Martinez clumsily gifted the striker the ball but by and large the Catalan side were polished enough that Celtic found themselves chasing shadows for much of the game.

There is, of course, an inevitability about that given the vast chasm between where the teams are. However, for Celtic to look to have any kind of modest success in Europe this season, it will be imperative to get the best out of the collective group. The early indications are that it will be the soft centre that serves to undermine the cause.

Long-term, Toure will add experience and some stability, but whatever happens on Wednesday night against Astana there will be a gamble from Rodgers. He either has to pitch in Toure who is clearly not match fit or else stick with the unpredictability of Ambrose, whose confidence has been entirely shorn after recent events. Given the magnitude of what is at stake, it is a massive call from the Celtic manager.

The tie is tiled in their favour at the moment courtesy of the away goal but Astana showed in that opening half against Kazakhstan that they were capable of hurting the Parkhead side. Two years ago at this stage of the tournament Celtic took Maribor back to the Glasgow following a similar scoreline only to lose the second leg by a solitary goal. They may hold the edge, but one goal will dramatically alter the complexion of the game.

In Dublin, last night Celtic closed out the game with a back four of players still wet behind the ears; Kristoffer Ajer, Jamie McCart, Anthony Ralston and Darnell Fisher were defence against Barcelona as the game ebbed out, their youth and lack of experience underlining the lack of alternative options available to Rodgers.

The pace and tone of the game had changed significantly by that time with both teams fielding different teams for the second period. While they interrupted the flow and disrupted the tempo, it did not alter the pattern of Barcelona dominating and Celtic chasing. Lessons to be learned if they are to move forward this season in a European context.

CELTIC: Gordon (Fassan 46); Janko (Ralston 62), Ambrose (McCart 62), O’Connell (Ajer 46), Izaguirre (Fisher 78); Brown (Rogic 46), Bitton (Allan 46), McGregor (Armstrong 46); Roberts (Ciftci 46), Griffiths (Dembele 46), Forrest (Christie 63).

BARCELONA: Garcia; Vidal, Martinez (Gumbau 77), Mathieu (Santos 61), Camara (Perdomo 77); Denis Suarez (Mujica 61), Roberto (Alena 61), Turan (Carbonell 61), Mohamed (Samper 77); Messi (Samper 46), Suarez (Alfaro 61)