Celtic beat Utrecht 4-2 at Parkhead to earn a spot in February’s Europa League play-offs.
The Scottish Premiership champions did the job early as Martin O’Neill’s facet went 3-0 up inside solely 19 minutes because of strikes from Benjamin Nygren, a Nick Viergever personal purpose and an Arne Engels penalty, the membership’s earliest-ever three-goal lead in a serious European recreation.
The opener got here after a well-worked purpose following a brief nook as Kieran Tierney obtained to the byline and pulled the ball again for Nygren to attain from shut vary, the Swede’s 14th purpose of the marketing campaign.
The hosts quickly doubled their lead after a listing of errors on the again from Utrecht. Former Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas’s under-hit go was intercepted by Nygren, whose low ball into the field was became his personal web by the unlucky Nick Viergever because the customer’s skipper stretched to intercept.
It then went from dangerous to worse for the Eredivisie facet when Dani de Wit was harshly adjudged to have dealt with Auston Trusty’s close-range header from a nook, with Engels doing the remainder from the spot.
Nonetheless, Celtic misplaced their manner earlier than half-time, maybe pondering the sport was over, with De Wit sweeping house from the sting of the field – and when Adrian Blake additionally discovered the online from distance after a swift counter simply previous the hour mark, house nerves started to jangle.
Not for lengthy, although, with the hosts, who ended up in twenty first place within the standings, quickly restoring their two-goal cushion as Trusty rose highest within the six-yard field to nod house Engels’s inviting ball in from a nook to verify their place within the play-offs on February 19 and 26.
Friday’s draw will verify their opponents – both Stuttgart or Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros.
The important thing numbers from Parkhead
- Celtic have now received 5 of their final six house video games in European competitors (incl. qualifiers) towards sides from the Netherlands (L1), scoring 2+ objectives in every of these victories.
- FC Utrecht have didn’t win any of their final 19 main European matches (D6 L13), since a 4-0 UEFA Cup victory over Djurgården in September 2004. It is the longest ever run by a Dutch facet in main European motion and the longest total in UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League historical past.
- Due to Benjamin Nygren’s sixth minute strike, Nick Viergever’s tenth minute personal purpose and Arne Engels’s nineteenth minute penalty, Celtic registered the tenth quickest UEFA Europa League 3-0 lead and their quickest in any main European match.
- Benjamin Nygren has 20 purpose contributions throughout all competitions for Celtic this season (14 objectives, six assists), essentially the most by any Scottish Premiership participant.
- Along with his purpose tonight, Celtic’s Aaron Trusty turned the primary American defender to web a number of objectives in the identical main European marketing campaign.
O’Neill: We deserved to win
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill to TNT Sports activities:
“It was really nice. We played really strongly in the first 10 or 20 minutes and a couple of great goals from our viewpoint.
“Then it obtained just a little nervy for some time when it goes to 3-2 however Trusty scores a fantastic header and we win the sport.
“I believe we deserved to win it. We pressed strongly, we obtained just a little bit drained which is not stunning however total, a superb effort.
“Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve shown great resilience. If you consider that this time last week, we were down to ten men for 60 minutes and then again on Sunday.
“They’ve proven that. Tonight, we did not make that many adjustments within the crew, they’ve gone once more… we obtained our rewards and we’re within the hat.”
On if he has a preference for playoff opponent: “No, we’re simply genuinely happy to be in it. After quite a lot of video games, we might’ve obtained lengthy odds about us being there, however the gamers have carried out brilliantly.”
McGregor: Under pressure, we delivered results
Celtic captain Callum McGregor to TNT Sports:
“We knew the target tonight was to win the sport. The strain was on us to get by means of and total, it was an honest marketing campaign.
“There were one or two games that put us up against it, but when the pressure was on, we delivered results and it was a very good performance.
“The mentality within the group has been wonderful over Martin’s first and second time [this season].
“The boys were hungry to dig ourselves out of the hole we were in and you can see that again. There’s a calmness and confidence in what we’re trying to do, even when it gets to 3-2… but for the first 25 to 30 minutes, we were really good.
“We belief the membership to get the gamers the supervisor and the workers desires, however the gamers which can be listed here are working ever so onerous and we’re all collectively.
“In every window, we want to strengthen the club and the team so the players welcome that as well.”
Keane says O’Neill reunion possibly ‘written within the stars’
“There is going to be a lot of talk, because I played for Celtic, but I don’t really care,” stated Ferencvaros boss Robbie Keane after it was confirmed his facet might face the Hoops within the knockout section.
“You always want to play against very, very experienced managers. I’ve done it twice in this campaign, with Rafa [Benitez] and then with Sean [Dyche], who has got wealth of experience.
“There aren’t many extra skilled than Martin, and what he is carried out within the recreation and what he is carried out since he is come again to Celtic, as a result of he is given a number of power to the membership, after all, a number of power to the gamers, with a membership that was clearly very, very down.
“That’s what Martin does. So maybe it’s written in the stars, myself against Martin. I don’t know. But again, regardless of who we play in the two games, it will be so difficult.”
