Celtic manager Martin O’Neill focused on his team’s second-half response following a 4-1 Europa League loss against Benfica, maintaining that the Scottish side can still qualify for the knockout phase despite a tough opening stretch. The defeat marks Celtic’s fourth loss in five matches, with the club losing both European games and both derby fixtures against Rangers this season.
First-half mistakes severely damaged Celtic’s chances in Lisbon, leaving them three goals down before improving after the break. Dane Murray gave away an early penalty by fouling Jhon Duran inside four minutes. Sebastian Tounekti subsequently allowed Alexander Bah to surge through for Benfica’s second goal, and goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo was beaten too easily when Duran struck the home side’s third. An error which characterised the first 45 minutes, dane Murray upended Jhon Duran to concede a penalty inside four minutes. They were three goals down and effectively already out of the contest, hamstrung by their own sloppy mistakes, by the time their performance improved in Lisbon on Thursday.
While O’Neill remained resolute about the road ahead, former Celtic player Chris Sutton offered a harsher assessment of the performance, labeling his old club as “flat-track bullies” after another failure in a high-stakes fixture.
