James Forrest’s stunning strike moved Celtic just 180 minutes away from qualifying for the Champions League group stages for consecutive seasons.
Kieran Tierney provided Celtic’s best attacking threat with a dozen dangerous crosses into the box, the best of which fell to Forrest on 27 minutes, as he forced the ‘keeper to make a brilliant instinctive save.
Erik Sviatchenko came close from Stuart Armstrong’s corner kick and was only denied by striker Nicklas Bendtner who cleared his lines two yards from goal.
Two minutes into the second half Rosenborg almost opened the scoring as Yann-ErikDe Lanlay raced in on goal but fired wide of the left-hand post
Leigh Griffiths came off the bench and almost made an immediate impact with a whipped cross into the box but Sinclair failed to get a proper connection on the ball.
Celtic will enter Friday’s final round of qualifying for the Champions League group stages, whilst Rosenborg will enter the Europa League playoff round.
Here are the player ratings from tonight’s game.
Craig Gordon 7/10
First save of the night after 15 minutes was comfortable. Had De Lanlay’s shot down low to his right covered early in the second half. Comfortable under the high ball and rose to win it a number of times.
Mikael Lustig 6/10
Good defensive stop inside the box to stop a dangerous move. Good timed run onto Tierney’s cross but wayward attempt on goal.
Jozo Simunovic 7.5/10
Composed start at the back and wasn’t troubled too many times. Made a last ditch tackle early in the second half as Celtic came under a flurry of pressure and continued to dominate in defence keeping Rosenborg at bay.
Erik Sviatchenko 6/10
Good chance from Armstrong’s cross blocked and cleared by Bendtner. Came off with a medial knee injury after taking a knock, unrelated to his groin injury that kept him out of the first leg.
Kieran Tierney 7.5/10
Got forward well early on but should’ve continued his run onto Armstrong’s threaded through ball. Terrific cross into the box but no one could get on the end of it. Weighted ball to Lustig as the back post was wasted by the Swede. Played another good cross into Forrest who forced the ‘keeper into a good save. Right footed shot went a few yards wide on goal. Most importantly defended well when he needed to.
Scott Brown 5/10
Struggled to control the midfield battle and was shoved off the ball too easily at times and needed to be more adventurous with his passing in midfield to create a chance. Had an effort on goal but it was straight at the ‘keeper.
Stuart Armstrong 4/10
Pressed well early on and played a good ball through to Tierney who failed to continue his run. Good cross into Sviathcenko from the set piece. Looked off the pace when going face to face with the Rosenborg midfield and was out of sorts.
Callum McGregor 5/10
Didn’t have his best game as he struggled to find space to play in between the lines due to Rosenborg’s compact set up. Composed late on and played some nice football as Celtic got control of the game after the scored.
Jonny Hayes 2/10
Needed to take his man on with more intensity, but played a dangerous ball into the box after cutting back onto his left foot.
Scott Sinclair 4/10
Kept turning back on himself and running backwards or into opposing players losing possession. Looked completely out of sorts. Made a good effort to track back and make tackles when Rosenborg countered. Played in Forrest for the decisive goal.
James Forrest 6/10
Good chance on goal from Tierney’s cross well saved by the ‘keeper. Could’ve scored from another chance if he took it on his left foot but elected not to shoot. Unsurprisingly didn’t look natural up front but his role to create space for others in behind failed. Moved into a more natural wide area after Griffiths came on. Scored the vital goal with a bullet effort into the top right corner from an acute angle.
Nir Bitton 6/10
Came on for the injured Sviatchenko after just 24 minutes and played at centre-back. Decent game considering he played out of position.
Leigh Griffiths 7/10
Replaced Hayes with 35 minutes remaining in the game. Brilliant cross to Sinclair after making a run in behind the defence. Vital in the team and showed how crucial he is to the team when he came on. Had a good chance foiled by the ‘keeper in the dying minutes.
Tom Rogic 6/10
Replaced Armstrong with 20 minutes left in the game. Came on and oozed class on the ball drawing players towards him and making space for others to run into.