Celtic faced an early setback when striker Kelechi Iheanacho was forced off due to injury inside the opening four minutes.

His early exit, however, opened the door for substitute Johnny Kenny, who immediately made an impact by intercepting the ball high up the pitch and charging into the box, though his effort went wide of Matteo Bignetti’s far post.

The hosts fell behind shortly after, as Tomi Horvat produced a stunning strike from distance, rifling a left-footed shot into the top corner to score in back-to-back European matches.

Celtic were nearly further punished when Otar Kiteishvili rattled the goalframe just before the half-hour mark. Moments later, Arne Engels threatened to level for the visitors, but his goal-bound header was cleared off the line by Emanuel Aiwu.

Sturm Graz remained dangerous after the break, with Horvat’s free-kick saved and Jon Gorenc Stanković heading wide from the resulting corner. Yet, the hosts’ fortunes changed dramatically just past the hour mark.

A slick short-corner routine allowed defender Liam Scales to steer a left-footed strike into the bottom corner, restoring parity. Minutes later, Benjamin Nygren capitalised on another well-delivered corner from Engels, heading home to complete Celtic’s turnaround and send Celtic Park roaring.

The visitors’ chances of salvaging a point were dealt a further blow when Tochi Chukwuani was shown a red card for a studs-up challenge on Callum McGregor.

Celtic held firm to claim three crucial points, moving up to 21st in the standings, while Jürgen Säumel’s Sturm Graz remain 26th, a point adrift.