Ronny Deila: 'Celtic are not favourites to progress'

Celtic manager Ronny Deila has refused to declare his side as favourites following their 1-0 victory over Qarabag FK in the third qualifying round of the Champions League this evening.

The Scottish champions gained a slender first-leg lead in Glasgow courtesy of a Dedryck Boyata header eight minutes from time.

However, they now face a tricky return match in Azerbaijan and, while he acknowledged that his side have a "good chance", Deila refused to take anything for granted.

"It was an even game. We had some more chances than them but we got one goal. That's OK. The result reflected the game. We met a very good team who are very hard to play against and we knew it'd be tough. We created a good chance. The most important was to get 100% effort and I think we got that. Everyone worked very hard," Deila told reporters.

"Defensively we were solid and they are very hard to break down and we didn't create enough crosses. In the second half we got better but still had a lot to do. We had possession and pressure on them but we have to turn that into more chances. If we score there they need three goals so it's a good position. It's hard to say we're favourites but we have a good chance.

"We have speed in the team to counter-attack and we have hard workers in the central midfield. Our central defenders were great today. The whole team working together impressed me. I believe in my players and I believe we are individually good but we are also a good team. I believe in my team but we have the respect for the opponent. The next games will hopefully show we are at that level."

Celtic were knocked out of the competition in the qualifying playoffs by Slovenian side Maribor last season.