Three highlights of Celtic's Europa League adventures

By John Reid

February 29, 2020

Celtic’s Europa League adventures came to an abrupt end on Thursday with the 3-1 loss to Copenhagen. That was a real disappointment after what had been an exciting campaign, filled with memorable moments and victories.

Here we shall take a look at three of the most memorable moments of Celtic’s Europa League campaign:

Injury-time goal makes history

Celtic travelled to Rome to take on Lazio in the fourth game of the group stages, knowing that the Hoops had never won on Italian soil.

However, that sequence was to end in an unforgettable night in Italy’s capital city. With the scores level at 1-1, Odsonne Edouard played in Olivier Ntcham, who clipped the ball into the net to give the Hoops an injury-time lead.

Ntcham celebrates against Lazio / (Photo by Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The game ended 2-1 to the Hoops amid scenes of wild celebrations. Not only had Celtic won for the first time in Italy, but the win guaranteed a place in the last 32 of the competition.

The victory has to go down as one of Celtic’s best in Europe for many years.

Wonder save secures vital victory

Celtic’s previous match against Lazio was almost as exciting, and once more featured some injury-time drama. With the Hoops leading 2-1 thanks to Christopher Jullien’s towering header, Lazio burst forward in search of an equaliser.

They must have thought they had one in injury-time when Daniel Cataldi caught a shot on the volley from the penalty box.

Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster / (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Thankfully, up stepped Fraser Forster, who somehow managed to turn the ball away for a corner. The final whistle came soon after, and the wonder save had secured a fantastic victory for the Hoops, one which put the side on the road to qualification.

Revenge is sweet for the Hoops

It was a bizarre quirk of football when having lost on aggregate to Cluj in the Champions League qualifiers, the teams were drawn against each other in the Europa League group stages.

Thankfully on this occasion the Hoops managed to gain a measure of revenge on the team who ended the Champions League dream.

Mohamed Elyounoussi celebrates scoring for Celtic / (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Spurred on by an excellent display by Mohamed Elyounoussi, a raucous Celtic Park crowd saw the Hoops defeat the Romanian champions 2-0.

The win helped the Hoops pip Cluj to top spot in the group stages. It also laid to rest the ghost of a dreadful night at Celtic Park.

What were your favourite memories of Celtic’s Europa League run this season? Could the Hoops perform even better in Europe next season? Share your thoughts below with a comment in our new discussion forum…