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Celtic beat Utrecht 4-2 at Parkhead to book a spot in next month’s Europa League play-offs.
The Scottish Premiership champions soon got the job done, with Martin O’Neill’s side leading 3-0 after just 19 minutes thanks to a goal from Benjamin Nygren, an own goal from Nick Vergewell and a penalty from Arne Engels – the club’s earliest three-goal lead in a major European competition.
The opener came after a short corner kick, with Kieran Tierney reaching the byline and setting up Nygren’s close-range finish, the tall Swede’s 14th goal of an impressive season.
The home side soon doubled their lead after a series of blunders at the Utrecht defense and former Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Bakas’ low pass from the back was intercepted by Nygren.
The striker’s low cross through the box was turned into his own goal by the unlucky Nick Viergever as the visiting captain reached out to intercept.
Things then went from bad to worse for the Eredivisie side, with Dani de Wit receiving a harsh penalty for dealing with Auston Trusty’s close-range header from the corner, while Engels did the rest from the spot.
However, Celtic lost their way before half-time and perhaps thought the game was over, with DeWitt swiping home from the edge of the area and tensions building at home when Adrian Blake also scored from distance after a quick counter-attack just after the hour mark.
It was short-lived, however, as the home side soon restored a two-goal cushion and Trasti headed home Engels’ invitation from the corner at the top of the six-yard box to confirm their place in the play-offs on February 19 and 26, with Friday’s draw set to determine their opponents – Stuttgart or Ferencvaros.
