Como CupThursday, July 24, 2025Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia CELTIC…1(Yang 21) AJAX…5(Berghuis 16 & 59, Klaassen 47, Bouwman 70, Bounida 83) It was a difficult night for Celtic in their Como Cup clash against Ajax, as the Dutch side secured a 5-1 victory over the Hoops. Celtic had a big chance to take the lead early in the match, when a ball in to the box from Daizen found Yang, who hit the bar, and fAjax keeper, Viteslav Jaros, produced a great save to deny Benjamin Nygren with his follow-up effort. Brendan Rodgers’ side moved the ball well in the opening stages as they looked to get in behind Ajax’s defence, but it was the Dutch side who struck first, taking the lead in the 15th minute. A ball in from the left from Owen Wijndal found its way to Steven Berghuis, who was just inside the area, and he produced a curling finish beyond Kasper Schmeichel to make it 1-0 to Ajax. Celtic responded quickly, and moments later, a sensational pass from Kieran Tierney split the Ajax defence and released Reo Hatate in behind. The midfielder shifted the ball out to his right to Yang, who produced a tidy finish as he buried his effort in to the bottom corner to level the game. The Hoops came agonisingly close to taking the lead with 10 minutes of the half to go, when Nygren found Adam Idah in the box. The Irishman’s effort took a deflection off the keeper and, for the second time in the half, the crossbar denied the Scottish champions. Brendan Rodgers made two changes at the break, introducing Cameron Carter-Vickers and Hayato Inamura to the match in place of Dane Murray and Kieran Tierney, but before either player could settle in to the match, Ajax had the lead through Davy Klaassen, whose shot in to the ground looped over Schmeichel and into the net. Celtic went hunting for the equaliser immediately and Reo Hatate found himself with a shooting opportunity from the edge of the box, but Jaros produced another good save as he got down to his right and tipped the ball around the post. Ajax went 3-1 ahead just before the hour mark after they moved the ball down the left wing and worked their way in to the box, giving Berghuis an opportunity which he took as he blasted the ball in to the roof of the net tofor his second goal of the game. The Eredivisie side further extended their lead in the 70th minute when Aaron Bouwman tried his luck from distance and sawhis shot arrow in to the top corner of the net to make it 4-1. And Rayane Bounida made it 5-1 to Ajax with just under 10 minutes to play, bending an effort in to the bottom corner from the edge of the box, rounding off a difficult night for the Hoops. Brendan Rodgers and his men will now prepare for their match against Saudi Arabian side, Al Ahly on Saturday night.
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