Celtic’s bid to reach the Champions League group stages stuttered with a goalless draw against Rosenborg in the first leg of their third-round qualifier at Parkhead.

Brendan Rodgers’ side played without a recognised centre-forward because of injury and suspension – the midfielder Tom Rogic was ostensibly the furthest man in attack – and they missed a focal point in an encounter where the visiting goalkeeper André Hansen had little to do.

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Indeed, the Norwegian club created the better chances and the Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon made several saves to give the Scottish champions, big favourites for the tie, at least a clean sheet to take into the second leg.

The suspended Leigh Griffiths will be available for the return game at the Lerkendal Stadion in Trondheim next Wednesday, if he recovers from a calf injury – Moussa Dembélé’s hamstring injury could keep him out until September – and Rodgers, will need more firepower from somewhere if his side are to clinch a play-off spot.

With the centre-back Erik Sviatchenko failing a fitness test, and the injured Dedryck Boyata out long-term, the 19-year-old Norwegian Kristoffer Ajer was given his first start after returning from a loan spell at Kilmarnock last season. His previous appearance came 12 months ago as a second-half substitute in the 3-0 home win over Lincoln Red Imps.

The former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner led the line for Rosenborg, who had needed extra time to get past the Republic of Ireland’s Dundalk in the previous qualifier.

With the ultras-style fan group the Green Brigade banned from Celtic Park for two matches after “serious incidents of unsafe behaviour” at Celtic’s previous two home games, the rest of the home support took it upon themselves to gee up the Scottish champions, but it was tough going.

As expected, Celtic dominated the early possession but it became clear that the lack of a spearhead was proving problematic, despite some nice buildup play. The midfielder Stuart Armstrong had a shot blocked in the ninth minute after drifting into the box to take a delightful Olivier Ntcham pass and Rogic just could not get the loose ball under control.

The Eliteserien leaders, 17 games into their league season, threatened in their occasional forays and in the 21st minute Milan Jevtovic got behind the left-back Kieran Tierney, his angled-drive blocked by Ajer for a corner that came to nothing, before Gordon turned over an attempt by Anders Konradsen from 14 yards.

The Rosenborg manager, Kare Ingebrigtsen, would have been happy with the goalless first half and would have been a whole lot happier had Vegar Eggen Hedenstad’s whipped-in free-kick early after the restart gone under the bar and not been tipped over by the Scotland keeper.

Rosenborg should have taken the lead in the 61st minute when a loose pass by Scott Brown was picked up by Bendtner but when Jevtovic eventually set up Yann Erik de Lanlay 12 yards from goal, he blasted over. Seconds later, inside a nervy Celtic Park, Bendtner forced Gordon into a decent save with a drive and at the other end, as the home side upped the tempo, James Forrest drilled a shot inches past the far post.

However, in another Rosenborg attack, the captain, Mike Jensen, set up Bendtner 12 yards out but he missed his kick completely, ensuring another let-off for the Glasgow club.

Gordon blocked a drive from the substitute Elbasan Rashani in injury time before the final whistle confirmed that Celtic still have plenty to do next week if they are to take the next step towards the coveted group stages.

Elsewhere, Ajax stayed on course to reach a Champions League playoff after earning a 1-1 draw at Nice in the first leg of their tie. Dynamo Kyiv were 3-1 home winners against Young Boys Berne and Kazakh champions Astana beat visiting Legia Warsaw by the same score to keep alive their own hopes of reaching the lucrative group stage for the second time in three seasons.

Italy striker Mario Balotelli fired Nice ahead with a close-range finish after a darting run by midfielder Jean Seri in the 32nd minute.

But Ajax, last season’s second-tier Europa League runners-up, levelled after poor defending allowed midfielder Donny van de Beek to sweep the ball home from 10 yards.

Istanbul Basaksehir, making their first Champions League appearance and featuring former Arsenal and Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor, almost staged the shock of the night after fighting back from a two-goal deficit in a thrilling 3-3 draw at Club Brugges.

Croatian champions Rijeka, seeking their maiden group stage appearance, held on for a 1-1 draw at Salzburg after the home side’s Korean forward Hee-Chan Hwang cancelled out a glancing header by Mario Gavranovic.