Celtic beat Dutch side Utrecht 4-2 in a Europa League tie at Celtic Park on Thursday night.
Celtic got off to a brilliant start and took the lead in the sixth minute when Benjamin Nygren met Kieran Tierney’s cross from close range.
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Nygren was again involved in Celtic’s second goal in the 10th minute, intercepting a poor back pass from Vasilis Barkas and forcing Nick Vergevel to score his own goal.
This is the first time Celtic have led 2-0 in a major European competition.
Nygren nearly got his second of the night after launching a free kick into the bottom corner, but Backas blocked it.
The Hoops were awarded a penalty kick after Auston Trusty’s header hit Danny DeWitt’s hand. Arne Engels stepped up and fired the penalty into the top corner.
Devitt halved the deficit on the stroke of half-time, setting up Kasper Schmeichel for a goal.
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The Danish goalkeeper then produced a superb save to deflect the shot wide, ensuring Celtic went into the break with a two-goal lead.
Nygren continued his action after the break and the Swedish midfielder saw his shot tipped over by Barkas.
Utrecht made it 3-2 after the hour mark when Adrian Blake beat Schmeichel from distance after a quick break.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Trusti turned Engels’ corner kick into the net.
As a result, Martin O’Neill’s side finished 21st in the table and secured one of the play-off places.