Celtic beaten 2-1 by Celta Vigo as European slide continues
Celtic lost 2-1 to Celta Vigo in a Europa League match on 22 October 2026, their third defeat in three group games, leaving them 35th of 36 teams in the competition.
The result followed Sunday's 7-1 victory over Hearts, a domestic performance that had raised optimism but did not translate into European form. Celtic had dropped into the Europa League after surrendering a 4-0 aggregate lead against LASK in the Champions League play-off, conceding five goals in 77 minutes, and have now lost their last four European matches, conceding 14 goals; only in the 2017-18 Champions League had they previously endured a similar run in the same season.
In Vigo, Mika Baur put Celtic ahead on 47 minutes, but Celta responded when Javi Rodriguez scored twice in three minutes to turn the match around and secure a 2-1 victory. Celtic failed to regain control after conceding the equaliser and could not halt Celta's momentum as the visitors overturned the deficit.
Manager Martin O'Neill singled out marginal incidents as decisive, saying: "We conceded a free-kick and I thought a second before that we should have had a foul for us. They score from the free-kick and it knocks us a little bit. It gave them a bit of momentum." He added: "I think if [Liam] Scales' header goes in to make it 2-0, we get the three points. We've lost three matches now, remarkably we're still in with a chance [of progressing]. We've got to win here and got to win away from home."
Statistically, centre-back Liam Scales recorded the most touches for Celtic with 121, ahead of Kieran Tierney on 79 and goalkeeper Sam Johnstone on 69. Goalscorer Baur said: "How we played second half, last 30 minutes, we deserved it in the end," and when asked why his team collapsed he added: "I cannot tell you, sorry." He also commented: "It can happen that you get a goal, they can score too, good team - you should then get control back, hold the ball a bit longer to take the momentum away from them. You should break that."
Former Scotland forward James McFadden criticised the team on Sportsound, saying: "The performances at this level haven't been good enough," and "Celtic are way short." He added: "It seems as though Celtic struggle when there's a bit of adversity. If something goes against them, the confidence drops, their heads drop, they stop playing forward. The ball goes back and across, inviting pressure, and there's no way they take the pressure off. That has been a theme." Ex-Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner also queried their standard, stating: "I don't think Celtic are good enough, individually and collectively, to take on a team that's eighth in La Liga," and: "They are not good enough at this level. Celtic are paying big money for some players because the fans are demanding it and then they come in and aren't good enough."
Celtic sit 35th of 36 teams in the Europa League table, above only Ararat-Armenia on goal difference, and face Besiktas at home on 5 November in their next European fixture; O'Neill warned of the challenge ahead, saying: "We take the lead in the game, if we get the second goal we win the match and it changes the whole dynamic. It didn't happen, that's it - we need to try to find a way to win European games."
