Celtic edges Ferencvaros in five-goal thriller
Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota and Liel Abada were on target for Celtic as they beat Ferencvaros 3-2 in Hungary on Friday (AEDT) to boost its hopes of making the Europa League knockout stages.
Furuhashi opened the scoring in an entertaining first half, finding the bottom-left corner inside the first three minutes, but a Josip Juranov own goal – deflected in from Oleksandr Zubkov's effort – saw Ferencvaros level the scores.
Jota lashed a terrific strike in off the post from long distance to restore the Bhoys' advantage later in the first half, and Abada added a third on the hour mark after some neat build-up play from the visitors before Myrto Uzuni pulled one back for Ferencvaros late on.
The result sees Ferencvaros eliminated from the group as its wait for a point goes on, while Celtic close the gap to second place to just one point.
Ange Postecoglou's men quickly went ahead, Furuhashi feinting on his right foot and slotting inside the near post with his left after Abada pounced on a loose ball high up the field.
The visitor's lead lasted just eight minutes as Ferencvaros equalised with the help of a wicked deflection off Juranovic that looped Zubkov's low shot over a stranded Joe Hart and in after Celtic gave the ball away cheaply.
Celtic reclaimed their advantage in the 23rd minute of an end-to-end first half as Jota finished off an incisive counter-attack with a superb strike, cutting in from the left to curl in off the near post from the edge of the box.
The crossbar was rattled at either end within five minutes of the restart as Tokmac Nguen struck a ferocious effort from the edge of the box that cannoned off the woodwork before Anthony Ralston headed against the frame of the goal from David Turnbull's cross.
In the 59th minute, Furuhashi thought he had made it 3-1 but saw the ball hacked off the line after he had dinked over Adam Bogdan.
Celtic did grab a third goal just a minute later, though, with Abada rifling into the bottom-left corner from a tight angle to finish off a slick move.
Uzuni curled a lovely strike from long range into the bottom-right corner in the 86th minute to set up a nervy finish, but the hosts were unable to complete the comeback and earn a draw.