The pressure on Martin O’Neill and his Celtic players has intensified after another fragile defensive display at Celtic Park.
Celtic’s difficult week went from bad to worse as Ferencváros claimed a deserved 3–1 victory in Glasgow on the opening night of the Europa League campaign.
A bright start from the Scottish champions ultimately counted for little as goals from Bamidele Yusuf, Kristoffer Zachariassen and former Celtic winger Daniel Arzani secured all three points for the Hungarian side.
Mika Baur scored his first Celtic goal to briefly restore parity shortly before half-time, but the hosts conceded again almost immediately. It was a decisive moment that summed up another worrying European performance.
After losing 3–0 to Rangers in the League Cup, Celtic have now conceded six times across two significant matches. The latest defeat leaves Martin O’Neill facing difficult questions about his preferred team, tactical system and how to repair an increasingly vulnerable defence.
Promising Celtic start quickly unravels
O’Neill made four changes as he looked for a response to the Old Firm defeat, and Celtic initially played with urgency.
James Forrest caused problems down the left, helping the home side move the ball quickly and deliver several dangerous crosses into the Ferencváros penalty area.
The missing ingredient was a decisive touch in front of goal.
Despite Celtic controlling much of the opening period, the visitors struck first after 20 minutes. Yusuf moved in from the left before directing the ball towards the far corner, with a touch from Liam Scales helping it beyond the goalkeeper.
It was a frustratingly cheap goal to concede and completely changed the mood inside Celtic Park.
The home side recovered and produced their best attacking move of the evening shortly before the interval. Baur, fresh from receiving his first senior call-up from Germany, applied the finish to bring Celtic level in the 44th minute.
That should have provided the platform for a far more confident second-half performance.
Instead, Celtic’s defence switched off.
Within moments of the restart, Zachariassen found space among a collection of static defenders and flicked Ferencváros back in front. Celtic had barely finished celebrating before they were behind again.
Arzani returns to haunt Celtic
O’Neill changed Celtic’s shape at the break and introduced Kasper Høgh to play alongside Jhon Durán, but the tactical adjustment was undermined almost immediately.
A loose pass from Scales was intercepted and Ferencváros quickly turned the error into another opportunity.
Former Celtic winger Daniel Arzani took full advantage, producing an outstanding finish to make it 3–1 and effectively end the contest.
It was a particularly painful moment for Celtic. Arzani arrived in Glasgow with a considerable reputation in 2018 but saw his time at the club ruined by a serious knee injury.
His return to Celtic Park could hardly have gone better.
Celtic attempted to respond, with Benjamin Nygren coming closest to reducing the deficit, but Ferencváros protected their advantage comfortably enough.
The full-time whistle was met by boos from sections of the home support as Celtic’s Europa League campaign began with a damaging defeat. UEFA’s official Europa League coverage confirmed the 3–1 Matchday One result.
Celtic’s defensive fragility can no longer be ignored
There were positive aspects to Celtic’s opening spell. They played with tempo, moved Ferencváros backwards and regularly found space on the left through Forrest.
However, those moments were completely overshadowed by the nature of the goals conceded.
The first featured an unfortunate intervention from Scales, the second resulted from defenders failing to react and the third came directly from a misplaced pass.
At Europa League level, mistakes of that size will be punished.
The concern is that this was not an isolated bad night. Celtic also looked vulnerable during their Champions League qualifying defeat against LASK and were comprehensively beaten by Rangers before Thursday’s European opener.
Changing the personnel did not solve the problem. Changing the system at half-time did not solve it either.
Celtic’s new arrivals have yet to make the required impact in the biggest matches, while the manager still appears to be searching for his strongest starting XI.
O’Neill left frustrated
O’Neill acknowledged that Celtic had started positively but admitted his side had been punished for poor goals.
The manager highlighted the number of dangerous deliveries Celtic sent across the Ferencváros penalty area without anyone arriving to finish them.
He was particularly frustrated by the timing of the visitors’ second goal, which arrived immediately after Celtic had worked their way back into the contest.
“We got the equaliser just before half-time and then conceded a really poor goal,” O’Neill said after the game.
He also felt Celtic could have kept the match alive had more players attacked the front post during the closing stages.
Those missed attacking opportunities mattered, but the unavoidable issue remains at the other end of the pitch. Celtic cannot expect to win major matches while repeatedly presenting their opponents with goals.
A crucial Old Firm test awaits
There is little time for Celtic to dwell on the defeat.
Rangers visit Celtic Park on Sunday, giving O’Neill and his players an immediate opportunity to answer their critics. However, another performance filled with defensive uncertainty could produce a result similar to their League Cup meeting.
Celtic’s next Europa League assignment is an intimidating trip to Portugal to face Benfica.
The competition is far from over after one match, but Celtic have already placed themselves under pressure. They must become harder to play through, more decisive inside both penalty areas and far less generous with possession.
The opening stages against Ferencváros offered a glimpse of what Celtic can do when playing with pace and confidence.
Everything that followed showed why serious concerns are growing around this team.
Full-time: Celtic 1–3 Ferencváros
Scorers: Mika Baur; Bamidele Yusuf, Kristoffer Zachariassen and Daniel Arzani.
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