Martin O’Neill may not have guided Celtic to their first European knockout win in 22 years…
But in winning the second leg 1-0 against Stuttgart, he sealed the club’s first-ever win in Germany.
A heavily-rotated side gave him plenty of food for thought ahead of this weekend’s clash at Ibrox – particularly given that they earned a clean sheet.
But things could’ve been different, had an unusual goal by Germany striker Deniz Undav not been disallowed for offside.
Celtic’s Europa League run comes to an end despite the win against Stuttgart 🥲
But who gets your man of the match from that spirited performance?
Martin O’Neill on Stuttgart’s disallowed goal vs Celtic
Speaking after the game, O’Neill was asked for his version of what happened. The Celtic boss said: “My version was pretty clear that the player had raced on the field without permission.
“That’s really what he did. He raced on. I thought they’d come from nowhere.
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“Suddenly he just charged on the pitch, didn’t get permission to come on, or wasn’t given permission to come on the field. And off he went.
“I think I could have scored! If I can get a 25-yard start on everybody else, maybe not. But I would have gone close.”
He was then asked if he would miss these kinds of European occasions, O’Neill said: “Of course.
“I’ve been given a chance here. By the way, the evening has absolutely nothing to do with me. It really isn’t.
“Of course I miss it, absolutely. I’ll miss it until they’re putting a brown lid on top of me. I miss the game.
I’ve always missed it.
“Here I am, in many aspects, in dreamland, really. Just to be given the opportunity to manage the side here and come, as you said, the first win for the club on German soil, which is nice.
“That’s bittersweet in that sense, because the tie was tough for us because of last week. But overall, getting back to it, I miss football. I always will.”
Has he played his way into the team for Ibrox?
Celtic’s European performances under Martin O’Neill
All in all, O’Neill’s European results since returning to Celtic have been a mixed bag, but this was one of a number of excellent results away from home.
In just his third match since replacing Brendan Rodgers, he was beaten 3-1 by Danish side Midtjylland, leaving their European progression in more than a bit of doubt.
However, he responded to this with a famous 3-1 win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam, the club’s first win in the Netherlands since O’Neill himself beat Ajax in 2001.
Upon his second return, Celtic needed four points from their last two games. Despite having ten men for an hour, he masterminded a 2-2 draw in Bologna.
After Stuttgart, he has now given Hoops fans three cracking away trips since coming back.
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