Celtic Fan View: Three talking points as the Hoops charge towards Champions League

Celtic Park witnessed one of its finest nights as the Hoops crushed Kazakh champions Astana 5-0 to leave them on the cusp of qualification to the Champions League group stage.

After another five star performance by Brendan Rodgers’ men we look at three talking points from the match…

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Sinclair joins the party

Despite claiming a hat-trick of individual awards last season it’s fair to say Scott Sinclair has started the season rather sluggishly. Fans have been calling for the Englishman to up his game lately and he responded with a performance akin to one from last term. It wasn’t just that he scored twice but his all round game went up a level.

The finishes themselves were of the ice cool nature that we expect of Sinclair, beating the keeper from close range on two one-on-ones. In general play, though, the former Manchester City man made some excellent runs to pierce open the Astana defence and the longer the game went on the more influential he became. With his goals he doubled his tally in European competitions for the Bhoys.

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Griffiths takes charge

Leigh Griffiths was far from 100 per cent fit coming into this clash but he turned in a selfless performance that was deserving of the man of the match award. Celtic were facing something of a no.9 crisis with Griffiths troubled by a calf knock and Moussa Dembele on the sidelines. It was a slight risk by Rodgers to start the Scot but it paid off handsomely.

The forward ran his socks off from the first minute to last and as the game got more stretched he completely tore Astana apart. He picked up two assists, setting up Scott Sinclair and James Forrest with perfectly weighted passes while his deflected strike added a fifth goal to the scoreline.

It was a display that showed Griffiths has turned a corner under Rodgers. The ex Liverpool boss publicly criticised the striker for a lack of dedication at the start of 2017 but Griffiths played and had the impact of a lead striker. He’s taken his manager’s advice and has become even more of threat as a result.

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Ntcham shines

If there’s one area of improvement Rodgers identified for the start of this campaign it was the midfield. The Northern Irishman was searching for a controlling midfielder especially for the European stage and it looks like he’s unearthed a gem in Olivier Ntcham.

The young Frenchman has made a steady start since joining from Manchester City but showed his class on Wednesday. He skillfully pulled the strings from deep and also took the sting out of the slight momentum Astana built up in the first half. His passing between the lines was very good, contributing greatly to the flow of the side and he showed his physical prowess in the middle of the park which is crucial in high intensity encounters.

His crossfield pass in the build up to the fourth goal was delightful and for just over £4 million the 21-year-old looks like a bargain.