Celtic faced Benfica this Thursday, October 15, for Matchday 2 of the UEFA Europa League league phase, and by halftime, the Hoops were already trailing 3-0 in a convincing fashion thanks to goals from John Durán in the fifth and 36th minutes, as well as a goal from Alexander Bah in the 23rd minute between those two strikes.
After this stunning result, Celtic fans did not hold back on social media, arguing that although expectations were low, the performance fell short of what they expected against the Eagles.
Celtic Fans Explode as Benfica Take 3-0 Halftime Lead in Europa League
“A failed Hibs manager coaching this team. Embarrassing,” one user wrote on X (Twitter). “Celtic once wanted to join the Premier. Can you imagine that? They’d probably be relegated each season until they were in League Two,” another one remembered.
“Behind at half time? Behind before kick-off. Behind before the window shut. We’re a relic of a club run by poisonous f—— rats,” another user wrote.
The problem is that Celtic’s crisis is nothing new, as it dates back to the last two editions of the Old Firm Derby, in which they lost 3-0 to Rangers in the Scottish League Cup quarterfinals and subsequently suffered a 1-0 defeat in the Premiership, after having lost 3-1 to Ferencváros in their Europa League debut this season.
During this period, speculation surrounded head coach Martin O’Neill’s future. O’Neill revealed that he had considered leaving the position and stepping aside to let someone else take over, but ultimately his family and the club’s board supported him in staying, and he decided to stay.
O’Neill said, “I think you take a moment. I genuinely think this, not completely convinced, but had there been no break then I probably wouldn’t even have given it a thought.
“But you know, time to reflect, having a wee bit of time, but it wasn’t even that, it was almost within 24 hours. It’s almost, you felt as if you’re walking away from something here, well that doesn’t look great, you know, it feels as if you’ve kind of given up.”
“It was probably a moment of weakness, which I’ve got plenty of. But the overall thing was, I wanted to continue. I didn’t consult too many people, family obviously, they did want me to continue anyway, regardless, they just wanted to see me working I think. But yeah, it wasn’t that long.”
Celtic had recently returned to winning ways after defeating Motherwell 2-0 on Matchday 8 of the Premiership, but they now face the harsh reality of European competition against Benfica.
Celtic Fan Outrage Erupts Amid Benfica Europa League Clash