Schmeichel savours Champions League return on ‘perfect’ night for Celtic as Idah dream comes true - Parkhead bulletin

It was a night to remember back on the big Champions League stage for Celtic as they hammered Slovan Bratislava.

It was an incredible night under the lights for Celtic and for one Hoops star it brought an end to an EIGHT year wait.

New No1 Kasper Schmeichel got his first taste of the famous Parkhead atmosphere in the Champions League as the Scottish champions smashed Slovan Bratislava to get off to the perfect start and keep the momentum going in their excellent start to the new season. Brendan Rodgers' men went in as heavy favourites to get the job done, and they did just that by blowing away Vladimir Weiss and his troops in Glasgow's east end by a 5-1 scoreline.

The opening league phase win not only ended a long wait for the veteran keeper to hear the famous Champions League anthem ringing out around a ground but it was his first taste of it at Parkhead - and it is something that will stick with him forever. Taking to social media, the Denmark international wrote: "Waited nearly 8 years to hear that anthem again! What an incredible atmosphere, unlike anything I’ve ever heard in my life! The perfect start to our @championsleague campaign."

Joe Hart - who Schmeichel replaced in the summer after three seasons at the club - has been on pundit duty since deciding to hang up his gloves as he kicks off his new career away from the pitch. But he's been no stranger to his old club and was recently caught on camera giving out pep talks ahead of the derby win over Rangers and he was quick to jump on Kasper's post and wrote: "Magical isn’t it? Well done."

It wasn't only a first taste of European football at Celtic Park for Schmeichel, but also Adam Idah. He climbed off the bench to net after a perfectly timed run and finish from a James Forrest through ball. The big money summer signing is getting back up to speed after a hugely successful loan period and he couldn't contain his excitement in a dream come true moment. Taking to Instagram, he uploaded a series of pictures with the caption: "Nights I’ve dreamt of. Champions League debut, goal & win. Wow."

Meanwhile, former Celtic playmaker Scott Allan was asked to give his verdict in just one word on the Scottish Football Podcast and described the display as "perfect". Before adding: "I think in terms of what Brendan Rodgers was looking for, his team brought that. They got goals, the goals were shared out around the team. The intensity they played with, they [Bratislava] couldn't deal with it. A perfect start to the campaign."

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