It was a frustrating night for Celtic at home this evening, as the Hoops were defeated 2-0 by Portuguese side SC Braga. A strike from distance midway through the first half and a goal with five minutes remaining gave the visitors all three points, despite Celtic showing creative and intensity in the early part of each half. Five minutes in to the second period, Kelechi Iheanacho had the ball in the net and it looked like he had grabbed Celtic an equaliser, but the goal was ruled out and, speaking to Celtic TV after the match, Brendan Rodgers expressed his confusion as to why the goal wasn’t given. “We’re still waiting to hear what the reason was,” the Celtic manager said. “It was a pivotal moment in the game. “We started the game well, and after 20 minutes, when they get the goal, I thought they then controlled the rest of the first half. “We changed the structure of the team at half time, we were more aggressive and then we get the goal. “For the life of me, I don’t understand why it wasn’t given because it’s not even close to being a handball. We’re still waiting on an explanation for that decision.”Tonight’s result means that after two Europa League matches, the Celts have picked up one point thanks to last week’s 1-1 draw in Belgrade. Despite the frustration at the result, Celtic still created a number of chances which, had they gone in, would have given the game a different complexion. The Celtic manager reflected on those moments as he explained the importance of a victory in the next Europa League outing. He added: “Their keeper has made a fantastic save from Sebastian Tounekti and we’ve arrived in to good areas and they’ve blocked it well. “We’re just in a moment where we can’t find the goal or get the break that you need. It’s definitely frustrating that we didn’t get something from the game. “You want to win your home games and we didn’t do that tonight. We can’t blame anyone else but ourselves. “We need to now get ready for the weekend and after the break we’ll have Sturm Graz. If we’re going to make any real impact in the competition, we’ll have to win that game.”FixturesCeltic Vs. Sporting Braga – Thu, Oct 2nd 2025, 17:45
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