Copenhagen deliver late Europa League knockout blows to sorry Celtic
It was not meant to play out this way. A day after Rangers had secured progress to the last 16 of the Europa League Celtic were supposed to follow their oldest foes into the draw. The fact the Old Firm could face each other in the next round added to a sense of excitement; and formality. A year and a day since Neil Lennon returned for a second tenure he was expected to endorse his expertise in European competition.
Copenhagen – a wonderfully disciplined Copenhagen – had other ideas. They ultimately cruised past Celtic after Odsonne Édouard had restored parity with a VAR-awarded penalty. Celtic’s hopes of turning this tie back in their favour were over within two minutes of Édouard’s 83rd-minute spot kick. Pep Biel and Dame N’Doye sealed Copenhagen’s victory and Celtic’s first defeat of 2020.
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“We shot ourselves in the foot,” said Lennon. “We had a great opportunity and we let it go. It’s bitterly disappointing to lose in that manner.”
Celtic’s domination of the early stages in Copenhagen fuelled theories of a straightforward passage. Instead the Danes responded forcefully; Fraser Forster’s penalty save prevented Copenhagen from bringing a lead to Glasgow. The opening exchanges of this second leg saw Stale Solbakken’s team perform in a confident manner, hinting this would prove a tense tie.
After alleviating their initial troubles Celtic seized the initiative. James Forrest should have connected with a delightful Mohamed Elyounoussi cross to send them in front after 17 minutes but the winger strangely failed to commit towards the ball. Elyounoussi was similarly wasteful four minutes later, with the Southampton loanee blazing high over the crossbar after a cross was half-cleared into his path.
Internazionale came from behind on the night to beat Ludogorets 2-1 at an eerily quiet San Siro, completing a 4-1 aggregate victory in a game played behind closed doors due to coronavirus fears.
No fans were present at the 70,000-capacity stadium as a near-post finish from Cristiano Biraghi and a Romelu Lukaku header denied the Bulgarians, who had taken the lead through Cauly Souza.
"It seemed like a training session, playing behind closed doors created a very strange atmosphere," said Inter coach Antonio Conte. "The lads did well to put things back in place immediately after we suffered the goal."
It was a night to forget for Portuguese sides, with Benfica, Porto and Sporting all joining Braga in going out at the last-32 stage. Benfica drew 3-3 with Shakhtar Donetsk in Lisbon, losing 5-4 overall, while Porto were outclassed by Leverkusen, who won 5-2 on aggregate.
Sporting were twice within a minute of overcoming Istanbul Basaksehir, only for Edin Visca to score on both occasions – first to send the game into extra time, and then to complete a 5-4 aggregate win from the penalty spot. Jaime Mata's early goal for Getafe made the difference as they edged out Ajax despite a 2-1 defeat in Amsterdam.
Elsewhere, Justin Kluivert cancelled out Jonathan David's opener as Roma progressed with a 1-1 draw at Gent, while Sevilla were held to a 0-0 draw by Cluj, but edged through on away goals.
Lennon had deployed a defensive formation once commonly used by Brendan Rodgers on this manor. Celtic operated with a back four unless in attacking position, when that number was reduced by one. Greg Taylor, the left-back, provided auxiliary attacking assistance to Elyounoussi. Taylor’s cross on the half-hour just eluded Édouard, with the ball instead breaking off a Copenhagen post via the unwitting Tom Rogic.
Yet if Celtic ended the first half in territorial command, Copenhagen carried menace. Mikkel Kaufmann’s pace caused occasional panic in the home defence, whilst Jens Stage should have done better with a free header from a corner which he tamely sent over the bar. Kaufmann’s withdrawal through injury as the first half drew to a close appeared a boost to Celtic. In the final act of the period, Edouard headed straight at the goalkeeper from six yards.
Callum McGregor had the ball in the Copenhagen net within five minutes of the restart. The referee’s whistle had already blown for a foul on Johnsson. Soon the moment appeared crucial.
Michael Santos easily beat the hapless Jozo Simunovic to the ball when the underdog to do so. Christopher Jullien claimed in vain for a push by N’Doye when seeking to block Santos’s cross. The French centre-back did that; but only back as far as Santos, who delivered a clever chip over Forster.
The goal visibly rocked Celtic, who toiled to gain any foothold in the game straight afterwards. Explanation for that can also be linked to the level of discipline as demonstrated by Copenhagen. Lennon called for Leigh Griffiths and a two-pronged attack for the closing 20 minutes. The move almost paid instant dividends as the Scotland striker’s reaction shot was batted away by Johnsson.
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VAR’s sole appearance of the evening afforded Celtic the opportunity they were otherwise toiling to create. Ragnar Sigurdsson was the guilty party, with a handball which led to an Édouard penalty. The former Paris St Germain striker dinked the ball home.
If that was supposed to swing the tie, the opposite transpired. A terrific Copenhagen counter-attack - launched after cheap concession of possession from Celtic - ended in Biel finishing low, under the advancing Forster. Copenhagen’s third summed up the defensive calamity which Celtic cannot afford when playing outside the Scottish top flight. N’Doye was on hand to prod into the net.
“Some of our injured players went to Rangers training ground for treatment today and met Steven Gerrard,” said Solbakken. “I think he was hoping to meet us in the next round.” Gerrard may now get his wish.
