Celtic 1 Wolves 1 - Report

At a rowdy Aviva Stadium, both sets of fans created a brilliant atmosphere for a pre-season friendly with 28,241 spectators in attendance.

Wolves started the contest well and combined dangerously with Nelson Semedo and Matheus Nunes down the right flank, before a warning sign saw Reo Hatate cut inside Semedo and smash an effort off the crossbar.

After not heeding that warning, Celtic then took the lead after seven minutes. Some good build-up play from the Scottish side saw the ball fall to Kyogo Furuhashi, who smashed home from the edge of the box.

Wolves were struggling to contain Celtic and just minutes later Furuhashi almost had a second. Max Kilman was caught out with a ball over the top, and the Celtic player chipped Jose Sa, but watched his effort hit the underside of the crossbar.

Celtic were opening Wolves up at will and Furuhashi was almost in again, but Sa made an important save, before Wolves charged up the other end and should have scored. The ball eventually fell to Nunes, with goalkeeper Joe Hart out of position, but the midfielder blazed over the bar from 10 yards with an open goal.

Once Wolves had settled, they played some nice stuff but with little end product. One chance saw Semedo’s brilliant touch set him up to charge into the box, but his cut-back for Pablo Sarabia was just behind him.

Sarabia then had a decent effort, cutting in off the right on his left foot, but shot wide of the post.

Cunha, who had been quiet all half, came close with a headed chance from close range, as Wolves continued to struggle to cause any problems going forward.

However, some swift play through the thirds saw Hugo Bueno released on the overlap in a very nice passage of play from Wolves, however his cut-back did not reach Cunha for the shot.

With Wolves improving late in the half, Mario Lemina headed wide from close range. He was stretching slightly to reach it, but should have hit the target.

Celtic were still dangerous, however, and Kilman had to clear off the line to deny Daizen Maeda.

Moments later, the Japanese international then fired over the bar, before the teams entered half-time with Wolves losing 1-0.

With the second half under way, Hart almost handed Wolves a gift when he passed straight to Pedro Neto, but his touch was heavy and the goalkeeper recovered.

A series of defensive errors from Wolves allowed Celtic chances, and Maeda should have done better when he headed wide from close range.

Wolves came close when Cunha beat Hart to the ball and hit the post from a tight angle. He also came close with a powerful header, before Sarabia had an attempt saved by Hart at the near post.

Considering it was a pre-season friendly, the game hit a lull in the second half when both sides made changes and struggled for any momentum going forward.

Fabio Silva, who came on with a view of equalising for Wolves, did well to set up Cunha but the striker delayed his shot and eventually won a corner.

Silva was then heavily involved again as Wolves got their equaliser. His delightful pass found fellow substitute Matt Doherty, who was brought down by Hart for a penalty. Cunha then stepped up to calmly slot it home.

Wolves burst into life after equalising and pushed for a winner but were unable to find one, with Hart denying a big Cunha chance, as the two sides settled for a stalemate.

Wolves: Sa, Semedo (Doherty, 79), Dawson, Kilman, Bueno (Ait-Nouri, 45), Hodge, Lemina (Silva, 79), Nunes, Sarabia (Toti, 70), Neto (Hwang, 70), Cunha.

Subs not used: Bentley, King, Pond, Jonny, Esen, Traore, Gomes, Fraser, Farmer, Kalajdzic.

Celtic: Hart, Iwata, Welsh (McPherson, 67), Scales, Taylor, McGregor, O’Riley (Kwon, 61), Hatate (Holm, 72), Abada (Haksabanovic, 72), Maeda (Oh, 72), Furuhashi (Yang, 61).

Subs not used: Bain, Siegrist, Turnbull, Bernabei, Lawal, Forrest.