Arabic version: معاناة سلتيك الأوروبية تتفاقم بعد الهزيمة أمام بنفيكا

According to BBC News, Celtic manager Martin O’Neill remained defiant after his side’s 4-1 Europa League loss to Benfica, saying a strong second-half display gave him belief they can still reach the knockout stages. Celtic sit 34th of 36 teams after two games and have lost four of their past five matches.

Benfica took control early in Lisbon as Celtic made costly first-half errors. Dane Murray conceded a penalty after bringing down Jhon Duran inside four minutes. Sebastian Tounekti then allowed Alexander Bah to run past him for the second goal, before goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo was beaten as Duran scored Benfica’s third.

Camilo Duran pulled a goal back after the break and later hit the post as Celtic improved. However, Vangelis Pavlidis scored Benfica’s fourth late on. O’Neill said Celtic could have capitulated after conceding early, but described the second-half performance as “terrific” and said his team created “chance after chance.”

Captain Callum McGregor said Celtic had not helped themselves in the first half, adding that unforced errors led to the second and third goals. Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton called the side “flat-track bullies”, while former midfielder Scott Allan said he would choose Duran over Kasper Hogh through the middle. Hogh, Celtic’s club-record signing, was substituted at half-time and has failed to score in 10 of his first 11 appearances since joining from Bodo/Glimt in the summer.