Rennes denied by resilient Celtic

Celtic FC came back from a goal down against Stade Rennais FC as both sides claimed a second successive 1-1 draw in UEFA Europa League Group I. Celtic's hopes of recording a first win in France since 1966 were dealt a blow on 32 minutes when a mix-up between Cha Du-Ri and Fraser Forster gifted the hosts an unorthodox opening goal, but Joe Ledley headed in a second-half equaliser to rescue a point for the Hoops. Neil Lennon's men started the brighter of the two sides, with Ki Sung-Yong's low effort forcing Benoît Costil into a smart save with less than two minutes on the clock. That set the tone for an open game, and Anthony Stokes enjoyed an excellent chance to break the deadlock when he turned past Kader Mangane and fired straight at Costil. The game's first goal came in bizarre circumstances when, as last man, Cha appeared to have comfortably collected an aimless long ball from Costil. However, the South Korean international failed to realise that Forster had come off his line and his back pass rolled past the stranded goalkeeper and into the net. Buoyed by their good fortune, Rennes dominated after the restart, with Forster needing to be at his best to deny Chris Mavinga after Julien Feret's precise pass had found the marauding full-back. Celtic stuck to their task, though, and both Stokes and Cha forced Costil into saves just after the hour. Their equaliser came on 70 minutes when Charlie Mulgew's free-kick from the right was met by Ledley, whose header at the near post looped over Costil and into the corner. A frenetic final period then saw Forster turn from villain to hero, somehow palming Youssouf Hadji's acrobatic overhead kick around the woodwork and sticking out a leg to prevent substitute Jonathan Pitroipa from grabbing an added-time winner.