O'Neill defiant in defeat, but Celtic's 'flat-track bullies' fail another big test
Retold by Oddsrama · 15 October 2026
Celtic's European dreams took another battering in Lisbon as Benfica dismantled the Scottish champions 4-1 in the Europa League, leaving manager Martin O'Neill searching for silver linings in a deeply troubling campaign. The damage was done early, with defensive lapses gifting Benfica a penalty inside four minutes through Dane Murray's clumsy foul on Jhon Duran. By half-time, three goals down and with errors piling up across the backline, Celtic were effectively dead in the water — a familiar pattern that's plagued them all season.
O'Neill pointed to a second-half resurgence as proof his side can still qualify, but that's optimism bordering on fantasy. Celtic sit 34th out of 36 teams in the competition after just two matches, and their record in big games this term reads like a horror movie: losses to both Rangers meetings and now both European outings. Critics, including former player Chris Sutton, have branded them "flat-track bullies" — dominant at home against lesser opponents but exposed ruthlessly when the stakes rise. Captain Callum McGregor admitted the team inflicted the damage on themselves, with unforced errors turning a competitive contest into a rout.
The cracks run deeper than tactical issues. Injuries have gutted the defence with Cameron Carter-Vickers sidelined, while club record signing Kasper Hogh continues to underwhelm, hooked at half-time after failing to score in ten of his first eleven games since arriving from Bodo/Glimt. Colombian forward Duran looked far more dangerous after repositioning centrally, suggesting O'Neill must make hard decisions about how to get his attacking weapons firing. For betting purposes, Celtic's inconsistency against quality opposition makes them unreliable at any price — their Europa League hopes are hanging by a thread, and their domestic form suggests deeper problems that won't vanish overnight.
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