Pre-season FriendlySaturday, July 12, 2025Estádio Benfica Campus ESTRELA DA AMADORA…3(Godoy 37, Otávio 44, Cabral 65) CELTIC…2(Hatate 7, Idah 53) Celtic were defeated 3-2 by Portuguese side Estrela da Amadora at the Benfica training campus today (Saturday, July 12), in a match that was played at an intense pace from the first whistle. The Celts showed from the start that they were eager to get on the front foot, and within moments of the game starting, Reo Hatate almost diverted the ball in to the net after shutting down the opposition keeper, but the midfielder was unfortunate that the break of the ball carried it away from goal. Kieran Tierney, making his first appearance in the hoops since rejoining the club this summer, looked well suited to Brendan Rodgers’ side, with his excellent passing from the back, which helped to get the Celts on the attack. It wasn’t long before Celtic had the lead, and the opener came in the seventh minute after Luke McCowan was alert to a loose ball out of the Estrela defence which he picked up and sent out wide to Marco Tilio. The Australian fired a ball across the box which reached Reo Hatate, who was in space 12 yards from goal and he was composed as he slotted it beyond the keeper to make it 1-0. Callum McGregor’s highlights reel from last season was full of spectacular goals from the edge of the box, and with 20 minutes gone in this morning’s match, he almost struck from distance again after receiving the ball from Tilio, but his shot crept just wide of the post. The Celts kept Estrela under the cosh for most of the first half, with the Portuguese side limited to very little chances, but in the 37th minute, a penalty awarded against Colby Donovan for a handball provided a chance for Alan Godoy to equalise from 12 yards out. The Spanish forward blasted his spot kick straight down the middle to make it 1-1 and draw his side back in to the game. With just seconds of the first half left, Estrela took the lead from a corner. A ball whipped in from the right hand side found centre half found the Brazilian, Otávio, and the centre half powered his header beyond Sinisalo to give his side a 2-1 lead at the break. Brendan Rodgers made a raft of changes for the second half, with only Callum McGregor remaining on the pitch from the first half team, whilst Benjamin Nygren made his first appearance in the Hoops. The second half also saw Doohan, Ralston, Murray, Scales, Inamura, Engels, Forrest, Yang and Idah all introduced to the match. Celtic found the equaliser in the 53rd minute after some brilliant passing and movement which saw the Celts move the ball from left to right. Forrest slipped the ball through to Nygren who flashed a pass across the face of goal, leaving Adam Idah with the perfect opportunity to score from a few yards out, an opportunity which he duly took. The Irish forward almost grabbed a second just before the hour mark when the Celts broke forward at pace thanks to a great ball to Forrest from Engels. The winger sent Idah through in to the box with the ball, but the keeper made a good stop to keep the game level. After a solid performance for 60 minutes, Callum McGregor was replaced by Sean McArdle, with James Forrest taking the captain’s armband for the remainder of the match. Estrela took the lead again with 25 minutes to go when a forward ball split the Celtic defence and left Liam Scales with a three on one. The ball was shifted out to the left where Jovane Cabral was able to have a shot on goal. Doohan got a touch on the ball but was unable to keep it out of the net, and it was 3-2 to the Portuguese side. Celtic continued to work hard and search for the equaliser but were unable to carve out any big opportunities in the closing stages of the match. Next up in the Celts’ pre-season fixture schedule is a match against Sporting Lisbon at the Estádio do Algarve on Wednesday (July 16, KO: 19.30). CELTIC: Sinisalo, Donovan, McPherson, Trusty, Tierney, McGregor©, McCowan, Hatate, Tilio, Maeda, Osmand Subs: Doohan, Clarke, Rice, Scales, Nygren, Idah, Yang, Kenny, Inamura, Engels, Summers, Montgomery, Ure, Murray, Forrest, McArdle, Ralston, IsiguzoFixturesEstrela da Amadora Vs. Celtic – Sat, Jul 12th 2025, 11:00
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