Celtic earned its first three points of the UEFA Champions League group stage on Wednesday with a pair of American defenders featuring in the process.
Cameron Carter-Vickers started and played 85 minutes in Brendan Rodgers’ backline while Auston Trusty made his club and competition debut as Celtic rolled past Slovan Bratislava 5-1 in Glasgow. It marked an important win for the reigning Scottish Premiership champions under the new tournament format.
Liam Scales boosted the hosts in front after 17 minutes, setting the stage for a busy night for Celtic.
Kyogo Furuhashi extended the Hoops lead to 2-0 in the 47th minute before Arne Engels made it 3-0 from the penalty spot nine minutes later.
Kevin Wimmer pulled one goal back for the Slovakian visitors, but Celtic would add later goals through Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah.
Trusty, who joined Celtic from Sheffield United earlier this summer, played the final five minutes, helping close out the victory. The U.S. men’s national team defender had yet to feature since his permanent move from England.
Carter-Vickers won three duels, made three tackles, and competed a match-high 102 passes.
Celtic now rides a seven-match winning streak into Sunday’s League Cup quarterfinal vs. Falkirk. The SPFL leaders will face trips to Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta in their next two UCL matches this fall.