Celtic have taken just one point from their opening two UEFA Europa League (UEL) matches following a 2-0 home defeat to SC Braga, who earned just a third away win in 11 in the competition.
The home side began brightly, as a lively Sebastian Tounekti was afforded plenty of space on the left. He cut inside in the 13th minute and tested the reflexes of visiting goalkeeper Lukaš Hornicek.
But Braga slowly grew into the game, and though Vítor Carvalho fluffed his lines from six yards with their first real chance, Ricardo Horta more than made up for it on the 20-minute mark.
He took aim from 30 yards, and the swerving effort caught out Kasper Schmeichel, who made a complete mess of his attempt to save.
The Danish veteran had no such problems soon after, as Pau Victor looked to press home Braga’s advantage.
That would be the final opportunity for either side until the last minute of the half, when a first-time effort from Florian Grillitsch from the edge of the area deflected just over the crossbar.
Then, in stoppage time, the Austrian was at the heart of the action again, as pinball in the Celtic box led to his strike being blocked wide.
Os Arcebispos had failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven UEL away matches, and they thought that had become eight early in the second half, when Kelechi Iheanacho nipped in between two defenders to intercept a loose backpass and steer past Horníček. However, a VAR review adjudged the striker to have handled, and the equaliser was disallowed.
The Bhoys again couldn’t make early pressure count, and had Victor been more clinical with his finishing on a counter-attack just past the hour mark, things would have got worse for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
The latter stages of the game saw Celtic put ball after ball into the visitors’ area, but they didn’t come close to levelling until Cameron Carter-Vickers wasted a free header from a corner 11 minutes from time.
Having sat deep, Braga broke away with just over five minutes to play and sealed the win – Diego Rodrigues stung the gloves of Schmeichel, before Gabri Martinez saw his rebound blocked by Liam Scales, only for him to charge down an attempted clearance, diverting the ball into the net.
It's back-to-back victories in the UEL for Braga, while it's three without a win in all competitions for the Hoops.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ricardo Horta (Braga)
Key stats
- Celtic have failed to score in five of their 12 games in all competitions this season, as many times as they blanked in total last season in 57 matches
- Tonight's loss is Celtic's first defeat in 20 games in all competitions
- Braga have kept a clean sheet in each of their last three games in the UEFA Europa League, a run of 318 minutes without conceding a goal