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For Celtic, the last cut was the deepest. At halftime, the Scottish champions were pushing hard for the most unlikely points in the Europa League when Milan substitute Jens Petter Hauge inflicted an injury in injury time from which there was no recovery.
For Neil Lennon, the goal must have felt like the sinking of a dagger. Under mounting pressure after Saturday’s regrettable loss to the Rangers, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his teammates inflicted the first consecutive defeats on a Celtic team since December 2018. How to stop the rot is now the burning question.
Sunday’s trip to Aberdeen in SPFL Premiership form has suddenly turned huge. Among fans, misgivings about the coach’s ability to draw a tune from his players are growing at a dizzying rate and a midday game at Pittodrie now has very little appeal.
While Celtic pushed to the end, Jens Petter Hauge capitalized by breaking into home
Mohamed Elyounoussi raised hopes of a comeback with his header goal in the second half
Anything less than a victory will put the Celtic manager in a dangerous place. If your team plays like it did in the second half, here you have half a chance. Play as they did in the first and that’s it.
Last season Celtic finished at the top of their Europa League group after winning at home and away from Lazio. While the Italian opposition proved to be a tougher bone to break here, much of the damage was completely self-inflicted.
From form to staff, Lennon now faces a battle to convince his fans, and directors, that he can change this. To continue defending as they have against Rangers and Milan and that seems like desperate hope.
A 3-5-2 formation has now been brutally exposed in the last two games. The decision to go back in the same form in the first half here was either an act of defiance or an act of self-harm. Whatever it is, the Parkhead side is still porous. Once again, the goals they lost were alarming, prompting more questions about recruiting in the recent transfer window.
Brahim Díaz, Manchester City’s former wonder boy, celebrates after scoring the second of Milan’s game
Diaz was on target to fit in at home and put Milan in the driver’s seat at the peak of the break.
Shane Duffy came to Glasgow with a high loan rate, a hefty salary, and a reputation for sound defense.
However, the Republic of Ireland defender was guilty of playing Conor Goldson on the side for a meat and drink header for the goal that put the Rangers on the road to victory in Saturday’s 2-0 loss.
This time, at least, Celtic went a bit longer without conceding a header. It was only a matter of time.
Duffy was once again unconvincing when Milan scored on their first goal attempt. Once again it was a ridiculously easy affair, the Brighton loaner misjudging Samuel Castollajo’s left foot pass in the 14th minute.
Bosnian midfielder Rade Runic had time and space to overtake young Stephen Welsh and launch a header into the far corner for 1-0.
He criticizes the goals that Celtic lose these days and Vasilis Barkas usually deserves a mention. So it was here.
To say that the Greek international made a mistake in the first match would be overstating the case.
However, he also doesn’t seem capable of making the kind of winning saves that Fraser Forster did on his business card. At a cost of £ 5 million, it really should be.
Despite their dismal performance against the Rangers, Albian Ajeti and Leigh Griffiths being the only changes made to the starting eleven, the pair forged a new partnership in place of Patryk Klimala and Moi Elyounoussi.
Rade Krunic had opened the scoring for Milan after heading inside the area
The £ 5 million Swiss international could have put the home team ahead after five minutes, taking a pass after a run from Kris Ajer and leaving room for a blocked shot. The ball broke Olivier Ntcham on the edge of the area, the Frenchman’s left-footed shot comfortably held up Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Milan’s goal quickly hit Celtic’s sails. Growing in confidence, the Serie A leaders took the game by the nape. On the contrary, the seeds of doubt were taking root in the Scottish champions.
The second goal came two minutes before the break. Once again, the defense was abysmal.
Right from the start, Zlatan Ibrahimovic exudes quality and class. The Swedish superstar sent Theo Hernandez galloping behind an advanced baseline.
The forward looked up and rolled the ball straight to Brahim Diaz. Shane Duffy in front of him and Callum McGregor rushing back to help, the winger still had work to do but still managed to force a low shot into the corner past static Barkas.
The Celtic goalkeeper only had two things to do in the first half. Both involved getting the ball out of the net.
Neil Lennon had to turn things around at halftime. Griffiths’ first start since March ended at halftime with forward and defender Stephen Welsh giving way to Ryan Christie and Mohammed Elyounoussi.
The changes involved a change to 4-1-4-1. Not before time was the cry.
Celtic seemed more comfortable with his new form.
They posed a rare threat to Milan’s goal when the tough and serious Laxalt nearly fell back against his parent club, cutting off an Elyounoussi who bounced over the bar on the 12-yard half volley.
Veteran forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic was in action in Glasgow, as Milan chased maximum points
Tom Rogic’s introduction to Scott Brown was a sign of how little Celtic had to lose now. They needed a foothold in the game. The captain’s replacement seemed to add a spring in his wake
The opening Celtic yearned for finally came from a corner kick with 15 minutes remaining.
Ibrahimovic had already left the fray, coach Stefan Pioli clearly calculated that the match was won.
Winning a rare corner Ryan Christie swung the ball into a crowded area, Elyounoussi missed number eight Sandro Tonali to shoot a header into the net.
Give Celtic its due. They went to great lengths to get the most unlikely points.
When the board went up for three minutes, Ntcham made room to drag a low shot inches wide from the right post.
Any illusion of a Celtic fight was extinguished with the last act of the night. The Milan substitutes, who threatened to cost the Italians victory, did well when Alexis Saelemaekers threw a pass to Jens Petter Hauge.
The number 15 easily outpaced Duffy on pace before calmly passing Barkas to jubilant scenes on the Milan bench. On their last visit to the east end of Glasgow, the Rossenieri comfortably dominated a defense with Virgil van Dijk 3-0. This was better. But not much.
