Celtic came back from a goal down in a stunning second half to earn a much-needed win in the UEFA Europa League, as they downed hitherto unbeaten Besiktas 3-2 in a thriller on home soil.
There were plenty of empty seats to be seen around the usually fortress-like Celtic Park, owing to the club’s recent poor form and fans’ grievances with the board, and the apathy in the stands was reflected on the pitch during the first half.
Benjamin Nygren was presented with a chance on eight minutes after good work down the left from Kieran Tierney, but he curled wide.
The visitors came back into proceedings and had the better of possession and territory without creating much.
Junior Olaitan’s wild effort was thrashed wide, while arguably the largest cheer in the first half was when former Rangers man Vaclav Cerny’s effort was also high, wide and not very handsome.
Sam Johnstone was forced into a fine save on the half-hour mark when he tipped Leandro Trossard’s shot onto the crossbar; however, it wouldn’t have counted as the Belgian forward was offside.
The hosts’ first half was summed up in rather comical fashion right on half-time when a clever free-kick routine found Nygren, but the Swedish midfielder fell over as he took a swing at the ball.
The first shot on target for either side came two minutes after the break as Johnstone held on to Kassoum Ouattara’s strike that skipped in front of him.
The visitors would break the deadlock just a few minutes later, though, when Jordan Lotomba dived in and caught Ernest Poku in the box.
Olaitan’s spot kick was saved well by Johnstone, but the Benin international reacted quickest to slam home the rebound from close range.
Martin O’Neill made a triple change on the hour and one of them made an instant impact to level the game.
Callum McGregor seized on a loose ball in the attacking third and teed up Callum Osmand, who stroked a superb finish into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with his very first touch.
That completely changed the atmosphere and momentum, and Liam Scales came close to giving his side the lead shortly after as his header was tipped over by Alexander Nubel.
Nygren came agonisingly close only for his effort to whistle over the bar, but the crucial goal came on 78 minutes as Osmand turned provider with a perfectly weighted defence-splitting pass to pick out fellow substitute Camilo Duran.
The Colombian coolly rounded the advancing Nubel and finished clinically from a narrow angle to raise the roof at Celtic Park.
After Osmand had an effort ruled out for offside, the home crowd was stunned into silence as Orkun Kokcu fizzed a low shot into the corner from the edge of the box to tie the game on 86 minutes.
However, parity lasted less than 90 seconds, and it was Duran again as a Tierney strike landed at his feet in the box and he stabbed home from close range to reinstate his side’s lead.
The closest Besiktas came to another leveller was when Olaitan blazed over in stoppage time, but the hosts held on to take all three points as they avoided losing five European games in a row for the first time and lifted morale around the East End of Glasgow.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Camilo Duran (Celtic)
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