Celtic's Europa League adventure will continue

Celtic 4 - 2 Utrecht

Celtic kept their Europa League hopes alive with a composed and ultimately comfortable victory over winless Utrecht 

Author | Sean M

Stadium | Celtic Park

Goals from Benjamin Nygren and Arne Engels, either side of a Nick Viergever own goal, had Martin O’Neill’s side three up inside 19 minutes before Dani de Wit pulled one back for the visitors with their first effort of the night.

Utrecht threatened to turn the contest on its head when Adrian Blake struck from distance to beat Kasper Schmeichel, but any lingering anxiety was eased four minutes later as Auston Trusty headed in from an Engels corner.

Celtic, who finished 21st in the league phase, will now face either Stuttgart in the knockout play-off round. Utrecht’s European campaign ended with a solitary point.

A closer analysis of what happened

With qualification on the line, O’Neill urged his players to attack from the outset and they responded with a blistering start against the Dutch side. Nygren opened the scoring by turning in Kieran Tierney’s low cross from close range before doubling the lead moments later after capitalising on a loose pass from the former Celtic goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas.

Nygren attempted to square for Daizen Maeda, but Viergever could only divert the ball into his own net. Matters worsened for Utrecht when De Wit was penalised for handball following a VAR review and Engels converted the resulting penalty with assurance.

The contest briefly took on a different complexion when De Wit curled a fine finish into the corner and Schmeichel, having earlier saved well from Niklas Vesterlund, was beaten again by Blake’s long range effort.

Any suggestion of a collapse was short lived. Trusty rose above the defence to head in a fourth and Celtic saw out the closing stages with authority to ensure their European campaign continues for at least two more matches