Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers and striker Leigh Griffiths felt Saturday’s friendly 3-1 defeat to Barcelona was ideal preparation for next week’s clash with FC Astana.
The Kazakh outfit visit Parkhead on Wednesday and the Glasgow giants hold a slim advantage, having secured a 1-1 draw away from home in the first leg of the Champions League qualifier.
Griffiths was pleased with Celtic’s display against Barca, but he warned his side to cut out the defensive errors.
Efe Ambrose scored an own goal against the Catalan giants and perhaps could have done better for Barcelona’s third as well.
“We were playing against one of the best sides in the world and errors cost us,”
Griffiths told the Daily Record. “But it was a good test and hopefully we can win the qualifier in midweek.
“We pressed Barcelona for 10-15 minutes and got our reward with a goal.” Rodgers felt the friendly with the La Liga champions provided an ideal test ahead of the visit of Astana.
Celtic midfielder Nir Bitton picked up an ankle knock against Barca and Rodgers is unsure if he will be fit for the midweek Champions League test.
He said: “Nir twisted his ankle and it restricted his movement a bit. We will see how he is for Wednesday.
“It was a good exercise against a top team. Every game in pre-season has been tough to get us prepared for Europe.”
Celtic are 1.60 to beat Astana on Wednesday, a draw is 3.80 and the Kazakh club are 5.25 to secure a victory.
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