London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Callow Celtic exit Champions League

Callow Celtic exit Champions League

Beleaguered Celtic's Champions League hopes ended in the second qualifying round for the second consecutive year as a callow side were undone in extra time by Denmark's Midtjylland.

Awer Mabil's equaliser forced extra-time

Raphael Onyedika side-footed home the crucial blow three minutes into the added period after Callum McGregor's stunning volley had put Celtic in front for the second time in the tie.

But defensive frailties cost them again as Awer Mabil levelled before Onyedika pounced to leave Celtic floored and bound for the Europa League.

They will face Czech side FK Jablonec in the third qualifying round next week, while Midtjylland go on to face PSV Eindhoven in European football's premier competition.

The result emphasises the scale of the task facing Ange Postecoglou as he attempts to rebuild a lightweight squad.

Celtic's pre-season has been dominated by talk from fans, pundits, and Postecoglou himself, about the lack of signings, with quarantine also denying them the services of recruits Carl Starfelt and Kyogo Furuhashi.

The fact they lined up with a defence with an average age of 21 told its own story, and the manager said it best this week when he referred to the team "flying by the seat of its pants".

But as in Glasgow last week they looked the more assured side in the first half, and McGregor provided the spark his team were searching for just two minutes into the second period as he took the ball on his chest before hooking it into the top right-hand corner.

The goal oozed class and gave Celtic the platform to kick on, and substitute James Forrest came so close to bolstering their advantage on the hour mark as he slid the ball wide after a good run.

And, just as in the first leg when Edouard passed up a one-on-one, they were punished for their profligacy. Midtjylland had not registered a shot by this point, but within two minutes of Forrest's effort, Mabil levelled.

The Australia international ghosted between Dane Murray and Greg Taylor to nod home a floated cross, emphasising the inexperience of the Celtic backline and the general anxiety which has surrounded the team in the last 12 months.

That only swelled from that moment on as the Danish side - roared on by about 6,000 of their fans - grew in confidence, and Victor Lind missed a golden chance to win the tie in stoppage time as he evaded 18-year-old Murray.

But Celtic were made to pay soon after as Evander floated in another delivery, which Henrik Dalsgaard steered into Onyedika's path, and the Nigerian had time to take a touch and dispatch from six yards out.

Man of the match - Evander

The Midtjylland number 10 was a danger with his quality delivery

What did we learn?


Celtic are as far away from being a Champions League group-stage club as they have been in a long time. Despite their decade of dominance in Scotland, they have drifted further from Europe's elite with every passing season.

It is fair to analyse the performance on the pitch, but only in the inescapable context of the squad Postecoglou has to work with.

To begin a Champions League qualifying campaign with a centre-back pairing aged 18 and 21, no clear first-choice full-backs or goalkeeper, and a striker in Edouard who clearly sees his future elsewhere is scarcely believable in the eyes of most Celtic fans. And that isn't even the full extent of their problems.

The club has no head of recruitment, no sporting director and are attempting their largest rebuild in two decades. Postecoglou says he walked into this job with his eyes wide open, and he will largely receive a pass in the circumstances, but with each passing game the scale of the challenge grows.

Across both legs there were signs of his high pressing, vertical style, but the Australian needs both time and signings to have any hope of success in the short to medium term. It's sure to be a bumpy ride.

What they said


Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: "We just got tired in the end. They scored and got through it. I thought my players gave their maximum. It's the beginning of what we're trying to embark on. We controlled the game until they scored."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×