Celtic Champions League reaction: European progress could be over, support strangely accepting of questionable continental officiating, grimmest stats

Celtic agonies following the 95th-minute winner that secured Lazio a 2-1 in their latest Champions League disappointment could reverberate for the Scottish champions across another challenging campaign. As we pick over below.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and his players show their pain as they applaud the support after another gut-wrenching night at home in the Champions League that ended with a 95th minute winner for Lazio in a 2-1 defeat.(Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

European progress over for another year?

It was perfectly acceptable for Brendan Rodgers to talk up his team’s competitiveness in their two games thus far in Group E...as he faced the harsh realities of points eluding them in both games, in bitter fashion. The performance of his men at home on Wednesday night deserved to earn them at least a point against the Italians. The last-gasp strike that denied them even that was a low blow. Equally, on another evening, they might have escaped with a draw from their opener against Feyenoord, even if two red cards sealed their fate as they suffered a 2-0 defeat three weeks ago.

Yet, without anything to show for what were considered the second and fourth best chances of claiming points from their six sectional matches, the prospects of finishing bottom for a fourth time in five Champions League group tilts is staring them in the face. Atletico Madrid always appeared the most daunting opponent in Group E. The double-header with the Spaniards - the first meeting in Glasgow on October 25 - could easily yield no points. As have nine of Celtic’s past 11 home games in the competition over the past decade. Their issues laid bare by a Lazio win that provided the Italians only their second on the road in their last 19 such European sorties. Should Lazio and Feyenoord share the points in their double-header – as would not seem a stretch – Celtic would be staring down the barrel should they fail to make some impression against Atletico. Hoping for third place in a Champions League group to earn a crack at the Europa League used to be looked upon as somewhat defeatist. Now, it can seem overly-optimistic.

Supporters strangely accepting of questionable continental officiating

Celtic haven’t been well served by referees and their VAR operatives in this Champions League campaign. How the technology didn’t adjudge Lazio full-back Elseid Hysaj to have committed a red-card offence when he clearly struck Reo Hatate in the face with his arm in the first half was mystifying. Equally, the second yellow shown to Gustaf Lagerbielke in the Rotterdam loss by Bosnian referee Irfan Pelito was, with sound justification, labelled “scandalous” by none other than Scottish football icon Kenny Dalglish. The Celtic fanbase have not seemed so enraged. Yet mere dubious fouls awarded by Scottish officials for or against their side – or for or against Rangers in domestic games – exercise them in on-line forums for weeks. How is it they can seem to accept that referees can be incompetent when they get it wrong officiating their matches in Europe, but are corrupt when the same happens in their domestic matches?

Grimmest stats for Rodgers and club

Bein Sports tweeted out last night that Brendan Rodgers would become the manager with the poorest winning return of any to have taken charge of 20 Champions League games in the event of losing to Lazio, before that came to pass. The Irishman has won just two of these – one for Celtic in 13 outings, and one in six games with Liverpool. An excruciating stat - and not the easiest to verify – beyond the two wins in 20 being a fact, it follows Celtic as a club being similarly damned in the wake of their Feyenoord reverse. With 74 matches played in the Champions League, the Scottish champions have the highest losing ratio for any side to have played more than 50 times in the competition. A figure that stands at 59% as the result of them suffering defeats in 44 of their 74 games. Hardly unsurprising, when they have posted only one victory in their past 23 assignments.