Celtic boss O'Neill remaining optimistic
Martin O'Neill is confident his Celtic side can still reach the knockout rounds of the Europa League despite its defeat to Benfica.
Celtic was thrashed 4-1 at Estadio da Luz after a brace from Jhon Duran and goals from Vangelis Pavlidis and Alexander Bah, leaving the Scottish side with 0 points after two games.
Benfica took the lead after just five minutes as Duran won a penalty and scored a Panenka against Viljami Sinisalo; it is the earliest penalty goal Celtic have ever conceded in major European competition.
Gianluca Prestianni then came to the fore, assisting Bah and Duran before half-time as Marco Silva's side was cruising to a big win.
Camilo Duran managed to pull a goal back for Celtic, but Benfica still had the last say as Pavlidis scored in the 89th minute.
Celtic has lost four of its last five games in all competitions, and kept just five clean sheets in its last 54 major European matches, while it has kept just two in its last 30 in the Europa League.
Nevertheless, O'Neill felt his side's second-half display provided reason for optimism, despite Benfica striking the woodwork twice after the break and creating more chances.
"Last thing you want to do is concede so early on. We could've capitulated, but I thought the second-half performance was terrific. We created chance after chance," O'Neill said.
"The second-half performance gives me the determination. I think we can still qualify. We can still do it.
"We came roaring back, the subs came on and did brilliantly. We could've scored a number of goals. It changed because two wide players really wanted to get at people.
"I accept on the break they could have scored themselves, as they did with their fourth goal."
Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill
Celtic FC
