Celtic lost a Battle of Britain showdown against English champions Leicester City in their first match in the International Champions Cup 6-5 on penalty kicks at Parkhead this afternoon.
The game went to a shoot-out after Eoghan O'Connell had cancelled out a Riyad Mahrez strike in the second half with his first goal in senior football to ensure proceedings finished tied 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Both Celtic and Leicester netted their first five penalties - with Nadir Ciftci, Stefan Johansen, Scott Allan, O'Connell and Ryan Chrstie all slotting past Kasper Schmeichel.
However, when James Forrest had his effort saved by the Foxes keeper Daniel Amartey took advantage - he stepped up and fired beyond Leo Fasan to the disappointment of the home crowd and the delight of the visiting supporters.
Despite the denouement, this was an excellent workout for Bredan Rodgers' side ahead of the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round meeting with Astana on Wednesday night.
Nir Bitton, Kieran Tierney and Erik Sviatchenko, three players who will all be expecting to start in Kazakhstan next week, were all omitted from the squad.
That meant Emilio Izaguirre got a start at left back in the three man defence which Rodgers once again opted for. Mikael Lustig moved from right back to centre half and Saidy Janko came in alongside him.
Janko did well to prevent Leonardo Ulloa, the Argentinian striker, from opening the scoring after 11 minutes with a well-timed tackle which gave the home team a visible lift. Celtic looked the more likely of the two sides to score in the first half.
Leigh Griffiths forced a decent save from Ron-Robert Zieler and Moussa Dembele also tested the keeper. Izaguirre then skipped past Riyad Mahrez on the left flank and forced his way into the opposition area. But he was unable to pick out a team mate with his pass.
Ben Chilwell found himself unmarked in the Celtic penalty box after 34 minutes and nodded a header at goal after getting on the end of a precise Mahrez cross from the right. Craig Gordon had little trouble claiming it.
Luis Hernandez gifted the home team a free-kick in a dangerous area just outside the Leicester box seven minutes before half-time when he brought down Dembele. Griffiths stepped up to take it and powered a low drive at goal which Zeiler did well to palm wide.
The King Power Stadium club did not have Jamie Vardy with them. The England striker was being rested following his exertions at the Euro 2016 finals in France this summer. N’Golo Kante, the midfielder who was so important in their Barclays Premier League success last season, has also moved to Chexlsea in the summer.
But there was no shortage of talent on display - as Mahrez showed in the second minute of the second half after Ambrose had replaced Lustig in the Celtic side. The Algerian curled a shot beyond the clutches of Gordon and into the top left corner.
In the 59th minute the Scottish champions levelled after the ball broke to Eoghan O’Connell, the 20-year-old Irish defender, just outside the Leicester box. He did well to place a shot low beyond the clutches of Kasper Schmeichel, who had taken over from Zierler at half-time, and into the bottom right corner.
Both Claudio Ranieri and Rodgers made extensive changes to their sides in the second half which meant run outs for Scott Allan, Ryan Christie, Nadir Ciftci, Leo Fassan, James Forrest and Stefan Johansen.They will all have benefited from being involved against such quality opposition.
The return of Johansen means the Norwegian is likely to be in contention for a start in midweek. The midfielder missed the game against the Lincoln Red Imps on Saturday evening due to an injury, but came through this game unscathed.
Celtic: Gordon (Fasan, 61) Janko, Lustig (Ambrose, 46), O’Connell; Roberts (Forrest, 62), McGregor (Johansen, 62), Brown (Rogic, 74), Armstrong (Christie, 75), Izaguirre; Griffiths (Allan, 75), Dembele (Ciftci, 62).
Substitutes not used: Fisher, Henderson, Hazard.
Leicester City: Zieler (Schmeichel, 46), Amartey, Hernandez (Okazaki, 62), Morgan (Wasilewski, 62), Chilwell, Mahrez (Fuchs, 71), Mendy (Simpson, 46), Drinkwater, Albrighton (Musa, 46), Ulloa (Huth, 62), Gray (Schlapp, 46).
Referee: John Beaton.
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