Celtic stroll into group stages with win over Suduva

Leigh Griffiths scored his 100th goal for Celtic as Brendan Rodgers' side sealed their place in the Europa League group stages with a convincing victory over Lithuania's Suduva Marijampole.

With the scores locked at 1-1 from the first-leg, Celtic started the contest as firm favourites but despite their early domination of possession the hosts created little initially, leading to a nervous atmosphere inside Celtic Park. Those concerns were eased in the 27th minute, however, when Griffiths grabbed his century strike with a fine curled free-kick from 25 yards out.

Chances came and went until a quick-fire Celtic double after the restart put the tie to bed. Callum McGregor grabbed his side's second goal with a fine strike from the edge of the box, shortly before Krisoffer Ajer registered his first goal with a looping header.

The victory puts Celtic into Friday's group stage draw where they could potentially meet the likes of Arsenal or Chelsea. Bitter rivals Rangers have also qualified after their 1-1 draw at Russia's FC Ufa earlier in the day.

Can Celtic make their mark on the Europa League? The Scottish champions were, understandably, devastated to miss out on Champions League football but all is not lost; progression to the group stages of the Europa League will not only generate significant income, but a realistic chance of silverware. Brendan Rodgers' side have been on the receiving end of too many thumpings in Europe over the last three years and perhaps they were playing a level above themselves; the Europa League, though, represents an exciting opportunity to go deep in a competition on the continent. Can they make the most of it?

Leigh Griffiths (Celtic): Settled the nerves of the home side with a wonderful free-kick - the perfect way to grab his 100th goal of his career. He didn't rest on his laurels, though - he remained on his toes, kept running the channels and almost registered an assist for his team-mates. May be frustrated he didn't score more than one.

Celtic: Gordon 5, Lustig 6, Boyata 6, Ajer 8, Tierney 7, McGregor 8, Brown 7, Ntcham 8, Johnston 8, Griffiths 9, Sinclair 8. Subs: Izaguirre 5, Hayes 5, Christie 7.

Suduva: Kardum 7, Svrljuga 4, Gajduchik 4, Jankauskas 4, Zivanovic 4, Slavickas 4, Acevedo 4, Cadjenovic 4, Offenbacher 4, Cicilia 4, Gotal 4. Subs: Leimonas 4, Kasparavicius 4, Verbickas 4.

19' - CHANCE! Celtic should be ahead but Suduva's woeful defending goes unpunished! They make a mess of Sinclair's cross, it falls nicely for Griffiths who fails to generate enough power in his shot to beat Kardrum.

27' - GOAL! Celtic 1-0 Suduva: Griffiths with his 100th goal! And what a lovely strike it is. Celtic win a free-kick, which Griffiths steps up to take, around 25 yards out in a central area. He opens up his body, curling the ball over the wall and into the top corner, leaving the visiting goalkeeper helpless. Relief all around Celtic Park.

43' - CLOSE! Suduva's defence is carved open once more, as Tierney slides a lovely through-pass to McGregor. The angle is against him but he should still score, instead he curls his shot inches wide of the target.

53' - GOAL! Celtic 2-0 Suduva: McGregor puts this tie to bed! Sinclair cuts in from the flank before teeing the midfielder up for a shot. McGregor still has a lot to do but he creates space for the effort, curling the ball deliciously into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

61' - GOAL! Celtic 3-0 Suduva: A first goal for Ajer! Goalscorer Griffiths turns provider as he delivers a cross to the back post and the Norwegian finishes with aplomb, his looping header dropping in at the far post. Sinclair is claiming he got the final touch though...