Brendan Rodgers' Thrilling Homecoming: Celtic Triumphs 3-2 Against Athletic Bilbao in James Forrest Testimonial
Celtic triumphs in a thrilling 3-2 victory over Athletic Bilbao at Parkhead, marking Brendan Rodgers' first home match since his return James Forrest's testimonial sees him playing 49 minutes after an impressive 467 competitive games for Celtic Hosts secure victory with goals from Reo Hatate, Alexandro Bernabei, and David Turnbull
In James Forrest's testimonial match, Celtic staged an impressive comeback to secure a 3-2 victory over Athletic Bilbao.
After being outplayed in the first half, Celtic found themselves trailing 2-1. However, manager Brendan Rodgers made a tactical change by substituting the entire team for the second half. This decision proved fruitful as goals from Alexandro Bernabei and David Turnbull, in addition to Reo Hatate's first-half effort, secured the much-needed win.
Around 42,000 Celtic Park attendees gathered to pay tribute to Forrest, who boasts an impressive record of 101 goals in 467 competitive matches and 22 trophies secured for the club.
Nevertheless, the standing section, typically filled with the passionate Green Brigade ultras, only accommodated a few hundred supporters. These loyal fans were particularly vocal in their criticism of Rodgers' decision to join Leicester.
Rodgers was warmly welcomed by the Celtic fans as he returned to Parkhead for his first appearance since rejoining the club. The benefit match, which pledged a significant portion of its proceeds to Kilbryde Hospice and Celtic FC Foundation, also saw Cameron Carter-Vickers make his first start following knee surgery, as well as the Parkhead debuts of Maik Nawrocki and Hyeok-kyu Kwon.
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Brendan Rodgers returned to Celtic Park for the first time since rejoining the club. Within 90 seconds, the visitors seized the lead as Hatate's error was ruthlessly capitalized on by Unai Gomez, who scored from a distance of 25 yards.
Bilbao kept providing opportunities to the hosts through loose passes. Hatate, luckily, didn't concede another goal before unexpectedly equalizing in the 36th minute. He seized a loose ball and skillfully converted it into a brilliant left-footed finish from 20 yards.
However, immediately after the game resumed, the visitors quickly regained the lead. Right-back Tomoki Iwata lost possession near the penalty area while trying to control a high diagonal ball, leading to a stylish punishment by Iker Muniain.
Only Forrest emerged from the locker room during the break, yet his appearance on the field was short-lived, lasting only until the 49th minute. At that point, the fans were presented with the opportunity to applaud him once again as he was substituted by Liel Abada. Hyun-jun Yang and Odin Thiago Holm, new additions to the team for the summer, were among the substitutes brought on during half-time.
In the middle of the second half, Bernabei managed to equalize after a seamless combination with Turnbull, who took over as captain in the second half, and Matt O'Riley. Shortly after, the former Motherwell midfielder elegantly slotted the ball into the net from Oh Hyeon-gyu's pass.
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