Celtic suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat to Benfica in Lisbon on Thursday night after a dominant first-half display by the Portuguese side in their UEFA Europa League encounter.
Benfica made a flying start at the Estádio da Luz, taking the lead inside five minutes through Jhon Durán, who converted a penalty after Dane Murray fouled him inside the box.
Celtic attempted to respond, with Kasper Høgh forcing Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin into action following a well-timed pass from Mika Baur.
However, the hosts maintained control of the contest and doubled their advantage in the 23rd minute.
Gianluca Prestianni delivered a dangerous cross into the penalty area, which Alexander Bah converted to make it 2-0.
Celtic came close to reducing the deficit shortly afterwards when Sebastian Tounekti’s cross found Høgh at the far post.
The striker’s effort struck the woodwork before Camilo Durán’s follow-up also crashed against the crossbar.
Benfica punished the visitors’ missed opportunities in the 36th minute when Jhon Durán scored his second goal of the evening, finishing from close range after his effort slipped through goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo’s legs.
Trailing 3-0 at half-time, Celtic manager Martin O’Neill introduced Haissem Hassan and Callum Osmand in an attempt to revive his side’s fortunes.
Hassan quickly made an impact, testing Trubin with a shot after cutting inside from the right flank.
Benfica, however, continued to threaten, with Prestianni forcing Sinisalo into another save early in the second half.
O’Neill subsequently made further changes, introducing Benjamin Nygren and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in place of Oliver Sørensen and Baur.
Celtic eventually pulled a goal back just after the hour mark.
Hassan delivered a cross into the box, and Camilo Durán reacted quickest to head the ball past Trubin and make it 3-1.
The goal lifted the visitors, who nearly found the net again when Camilo Durán connected with a penetrating pass from Oxlade-Chamberlain.
His effort beat the goalkeeper but struck the outside of the post.
Despite Celtic’s improved performance after the break, Benfica had the final say in the closing stages.
Vangelis Pavlidis sealed the emphatic victory in the 89th minute, firing home from the edge of the penalty area to restore the hosts’ three-goal advantage.
The result left Celtic disappointed after their second Europa League outing of the season, while Benfica celebrated a convincing home victory.
