Celtic out of Champions League after Malmo loss
CELTIC crashed out of the Champions League at the play-off stage for the second successive season as Malmo completed a 4-3 aggregate victory.
The Swedish side’s late goal in their 3-2 first-leg defeat kept their hopes alive and returning captain Markus Rosenberg headed his side ahead midway through the first half.
Celtic, the better team for long periods at Parkhead last week, rarely threatened as an attacking force but they will point to a Nir Bitton goal controversially struck off just before half-time.
And their fate was effectively sealed through Dedryck Boyata’s second-half own goal as the Scottish champions missed out on a lucrative £20 million windfall.
Celtic, who had beaten Stjarnan and Qarabag in the previous qualifying rounds, last reached the group stages in 2013-14 after losing to Maribor at this stage in boss Ronny Deila’s debut campaign last term.
But just like last year, Europa League football during the autumn is the consolation prize for the Hoops, who are now consigned to losing key defender Virgil van Dijk to English Premier League side Southampton.
Saturday’s Scottish Premiership match with St Johnstone is likely to be the Dutchman’s final outing for the Glasgow club with Deila now faced with the tough challenge of rebuilding his rearguard.
The Norwegian, who made nine changes for last weekend’s 3-1 win over Dundee United, switched both full-backs from the first leg with 19-year-old Saidy Janko handed a first European start as Swede Mikael Lustig missed out and Charlie Mulgrew was preferred to Emilio Izaguirre on the left.
Rookie: The Swiss full-back made only his second start for Celtic in their biggest game of the season (Picture from BT Sport)
A bitterly disappointing night at the hostile Swedbank Stadion started on a positive note for Celtic with Janko, the summer signing from Manchester United, stretching the Malmo defence early on but his low cross narrowly evaded Leigh Griffiths and Stuart Armstrong.
Last week’s two-goal hero Griffiths got in behind with ease to lift a half-volley wide before van Dijk fired off target as Malmo keeper Johan Wiland, who fuelled the pre-match war of words, raced out to unconvincingly deal with Stefan Johansen’s lofted pass.
Jo Inge Berget, the scourge of his former club with Malmo’s two first-leg strikes, was again the source of all danger to Celtic with two efforts that flashed inches wide and an inviting cross which almost picked out Rosenberg.
But the former West Brom forward, who missed last week’s trip to Glasgow through suspension, changed the complexion of the tie when rising above van Dijk to convert Yoshimar Yotun’s cross and put Malmo in the box seat.
Proving his worth: The 32-year-old, in his second spell at Malmo, failed to score in 28 West Brom games but is making his mark in his homeland (Picture from BT Sport)
The vocal home support inside Malmo’s new 24,000-capacity stadium, however, breathed a huge sigh of relief moments before the interval as Celtic were denied both a goal and a penalty in dubious circumstances.
Bitton eventually knocked in Armstrong’s corner but Serbian referee Milorad Mazic, who issued 10 yellow cards on the night, awarded the hosts a free-kick despite replays showing that Kari Arnason had initially handled the ball in the build-up.
Deila introduced Kris Commons for Armstrong at the break but Celtic were under siege with Craig Gordon denying Nikola Djurdjic before a superb double save to thwart Vladimir Rodic’s drive and Rosenberg’s rebound.
But Celtic’s task became a mammoth one nine minutes into the second half once Felipe Carvalho flicked on Rodic’s corner and Boyata stuck out a boot to divert past his exposed keeper Gordon.
It left the Hoops needing a two-goal salvo to rescue their Champions League dreams yet no response was forthcoming, a long-range Commons effort over the crossbar the closest they came, even with the arrivals of Gary Mackay-Steven and Nadir Ciftci from the bench.
Deila suggested his players were “scared and frightened” – a claim rejected by Kris Commons – but Celtic will have to settle for the Europa League once more as Malmo, now unbeaten in 12 qualifying home games, march on into the group stage draw for the second year running.
Comparisons: The Malmo head coach has 20 years more managerial experience than his Norwegian counterpart (Picture from BT Sport)
TEAMS:
Back from bans: Rosenberg and midfielder Enoch Adu returned to the side after sitting out the first leg (Picture from BT Sport)
Subs used: Carvalho (on for Bengtsson 45'), Rakip (on for Rodic 82') and Mehmeti (on for Berget 90+3').
Booked: Rodic (39'), Carvalho (55'), Tinnerholm (75'), Rosenberg (90+4')
Goals: Rosenberg (23'), Boyata og (54')
Much-changed: Only Janko, Mulgrew and Griffiths remained from the team at Tannadice (Picture from BT Sport)
Subs used: Commons (on for Armstrong 45'), Ciftci (on for Bitton 72') and Mackay-Steven (on for Forrest 79').
Booked: van Dijk (20'), Griffiths (39'), Boyata (49'), Bitton (65'), Commons (81'), Johansen (85')
Goals: None
Referee: Milorad Mazic (Serbia) - 8/10 Attendance: 20,500
MANAGER REACTION:
Little sympathy: Hareide didn't have much to say about Celtic during his post-match assessment (Picture from BT Sport)
"We worked hard on set pieces – that is why we closed our training session, so we could focus on them. I would not say Celtic were weak. Maybe we made them weak. Our game plan was perfect. We wanted to play a bit longer than we normally do and work on the second balls. Markus Rosenberg and Niko [Djurdjic] did a fantastic job up front. We had more clear-cut chances. Djurdjic had one in the first half and Rosenberg in the second, when the keeper made some amazing saves. If any team was lucky, it was Celtic."
Damning: Deila said the team display was not of the standard expected and his players looked "very uncomfortable" on the ball (Picture from BT Sport)
"It's quite simple – we were not even close to what we are capable of achieving. We looked very uncomfortable with the ball and did not want the ball. We looked scared out there and that is very, very disappointing. We were like this as a team, it was not just one or two players. We underachieved as a team and it's my responsibility. We were not at a level that we hoped to reach – we were not even close. Malmo deserved to go through."
MATCH FACTS:
Possession: Malmo 40%, Celtic 60% Attempts: Malmo 16, Celtic 11 On target: Malmo 5, Celtic 2 Off target: Malmo 11, Celtic 9
Corners: Malmo 7, Celtic 5 Offsides: Malmo 2, Celtic 2 Fouls: Malmo 14, Celtic 14
