Celtic lost 4-1 away to Benfica in the Europa League, after which manager Martin O’Neill said he still believes the team can qualify and wants to reach the knockout stages. After the defeat, Celtic sit third bottom of the Europa League table with zero points from two games.
Early damage before the break
Benfica led 3-0 before half-time. Celtic conceded a penalty after five minutes, and Jhon Durán scored from the spot with a panenka. O’Neill told TNT Sports: "For the cross on the second goal, we’re coming out instead of defending it properly. That’s really poor from our viewpoint. You can’t afford to do that in any game, never mind one of this magnitude."
Second-half response
Celtic scored just after the hour mark through a Camilo Durán header.
O’Neill praises substitutes
O’Neill praised Callum Osmand and Haissem Hassan for their positive impact in the second half. He said: "In the second half we came roaring back. The substitutes came on and did brilliantly."
O’Neill added: "It changed because the two wide players wanted to get at people. They showed great determination to go beyond and also take players on. That gave the rest of the team a bit of impetus."
Belief remains after defeat
O’Neill said: "We created chance after chance and we should have scored more goals. I’m really delighted with the second half performance."
He also said: "The second half performance gives me determination, and I think we can still qualify. I know it’s now down to six games, but we want to get into the knockout stages and we can still do it."