Molde hit form ahead of Celtic trip

Molde continued their recent winning run with a 4-1 win over Viking yesterday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side won’t be playing in Europe next season but their impressive Europa League results have given them an end of season domestic boost.

Viking arrived at the Aker Stadium four points ahead of Molde and nursing hopes of a European place but were well beaten as the home side prepared for their trip to Glasgow.

Mattius Mostrum opened the scoring in the first minute with two goals shortly after the break from Freddy Semb Berge and Mohamed Elyounoussi putting the game beyond Viking.

When Viking scored in the 80th minute Molde hit back straight away through Mushaga Bakenga with one match report suggesting that the scoreline should have been 8-1 rather than 4-1.

A draw on Thursday night would suit Molde but after taking seven points from their opening matches an away win would put them out of Celtic’s reach and pile the pressure onto Ronny Deila.

The Celtic boss got the results and reaction that he needed after the defeat in Molde but knows that progress in Europe is essential.

“It is a must-win game,” the Celtic manager admitted looking ahead to Thursday’s match. “That is how I will look at it. That we must win to get through. Maybe it won’t be, but I want to think of it that way. We have not lost at home for a long, long time and that is a positive thing. We want to keep those good stats.

“Individually, we are better. As a team, they have played together for many years and they know what they are doing. They are a good football team. Individually, there are not many players from Molde who will come into the first 11 here. They play with each other well and that’s the positive in Norwegian football.

“With their systems, they are thinking ‘I know I’m not the greatest player but I know I have good skills and I will do everything to bring that to the team and my team-mates will get better’. We talk about names, we talk about teams but it is not about that. It is about how good is the team.

“Molde have shown so far they are the best in the group. They have seven points, they have played all the others and nobody has beaten them. So it is going to be a tough game on Thursday but I know we have the quality to beat them.”

In Amsterdam Ajax take on Fenerbahce with the home side three points clear in the Dutch league thanks to a 6-0 home win over Roda. Fenerbahce travel to Holland following a 1-0 win away to Osmanlispor that keeps them two points behind league leaders Besiktas.