Duran shines for Celtic in draw with Milan
Celtic concluded its pre-season preparations with a 2-2 draw against AC Milan, with summer signing Camilo Duran grabbing a goal and an assist.
The hosts took the lead in the 11th minute through Duran, who capitalised on Strahinja Pavlovic's poor pass back to goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani before stroking the ball home.
Another defensive error from Ruben Amorim's side doubled Celtic's lead, this time Samuele Ricci's loose ball was intercepted by Duran, who cut back for James Forrest to fire into the net and give his team a two-goal cushion going into the break.
However, Milan reduced the deficit two minutes after the restart when Cameron Carter-Vickers brought down Francesco Camarda inside the penalty area, with the half-time substitute dusting himself down to send Viljami Sinisalo the wrong way from 12 yards.
Camrada then hauled his side level five minutes later after heading in from Samuel Chukwueze's excellent cross, but neither side was able to find a winning goal.
But O'Neill was pleased with the overall performance and highlighted Duran for praise. He has netted three goals in three games since completing his 拢6 million ($11.5 million) switch from Qarabag.
"I have already said this, but if he stays clear of a serious injury, I think he will be a real asset to us," O'Neill said. "I think he is a fine footballer.
"He read the situation brilliantly for the second goal. He intercepted the pass back to the goalkeeper, and he ended up playing his part in what was a great goal for us.
"We were doing really well up until that point. We wanted to press at good times, but we became a bit too casual at the beginning of the second half.
"That is not a word I would use often to describe one of my teams, but that was the case. But I thought in the last 20 minutes we became a lot stronger."
Celtic concluded its pre-season preparations with just one defeat from its five matches, although there was only one win also, with three draws ahead of its opening match of the Scottish Premiership next Tuesday (AEST).
It will take on Dundee FC at Parkhead as it begins its title defence, but O'Neill conceded his team needed to overcome its own lapses in concentration that were on show against Milan.
"I was very pleased with a lot of the things we did," O'Neill added. "We pressed strongly for long phases of the game and were able to add a couple of goals too.
"Other than a little period just after half-time when we conceded the penalty and then a 10-minute spell where we lost control, considering it was AC Milan, we played very well."
Celtic's victory came on the same day Daizen Maeda joined Premier League side Ipswich Town for 拢10 million ($19.1 millio), although a replacement for the Japan international could be imminent.
It has been reported that Celtic has agreed a club-record fee of 拢11 million ($21 million) plus add-ons to sign striker Kasper Hogh from Bodo/Glimt on a four-year contract.
Hogh netted 17 goals and provided five assists in the Eliteserien in 2025-2026 and was also a key part of Bodo's giant-killing run to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.
He scored five times in the competition last season, the joint-most by a Danish player in a single campaign, whilst his eight goal involvements were the outright most for a Danish player in a single season in the UEFA Champions League.
