Celtic crashed out of the Europa League in calamitous style with a 3-0 defeat by Zenit St Petersburg in Russia last night.
The Hoops’ deserved 1-0 lead from the first leg of the last-32 tie at Parkhead last week was wiped out before half-an-hour had been played, with Brendan Rodgers’ side culpable.
Returning defender Branislav Ivanovic, celebrating his 34th birthday, put Zenit in front with a header from a poorly defended corner in the eighth minute before attacker Daler Kuzyaev fired in a long-range drive in the 27th minute which had Parkhead keeper Dorus de Vries grasping air.
Still, a goal was all Celtic needed to go through to the last 16 but in the 61st minute striker Aleksandr Kokorin, who had previously scored against the Hoops for Dinamo Moscow, made it 3-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.
An expensively-assembled Zenit side had looked rusty in Glasgow in their first competitive game in two months due to Russia’s winter break.
However, despite looking no better than decent, they were fit enough and good enough to recover the tie, although they were given some help by the Hoops.
The stadium’s roof was closed over which was good news for the players and 50,492 supporters, including several hundred in green and white, due to the sub-zero temperature outside.
Celtic were unchanged from the first leg, while Zenit brought back former Chelsea defender Ivanovic and midfielder Matias Kranevitter. The Scottish champions looked at ease from kick-off only to be stunned by the loss of the early goal.
De Vries made a decent save turning a long-distance drive from Leandro Paredes past the post for a corner but when the Argentinian delivered his set-piece into the box Ivanovic rose to bullet in his header, with centre backs Jozo Simunovic and Kristoffer Ajer unable to get in a real challenge.
Moments later, Kokorin drove a weak shot at De Vries when he could have taken the ball in closer, before Paredes fired a 30-yard free kick just over the bar.
Zenit’s second goal also appeared avoidable as Kuzyaev, after taking an Anton Zabolotny pass, fired past De Vries from 25 yards, with Celtic’s Dutch keeper appearing to misjudge the flight of the ball.
Celtic’s Tom Rogic replaced Eboue Kouassi for the start of the second half, the Australia midfielder sending a shot over the bar within a minute of the restart.
However, there was more woe for the Hoops when, with the Parkhead defence in disarray again, Kokorin got in front of right back Mikael Lustig and bundled in number three from just a few yards out, Ivanovic supplying the cross.
Celtic tried to fight back but they looked all out of hope. Zenit keeper Andrei Lunev saved an Olivier Ntcham shot but it was only a glimmer.
There was plenty of Celtic hustle and bustle in the final stages but there was no way back from a night in Russia which ended with plenty of regret.
l Serie A leaders Napoli last night crashed out of the Europa League on away goals at the last-32 stage, despite beating RB Leipzig 2-0 in Germany. The Italians had it all to do having been stunned 3-1 by Leipzig in the first leg at Stadio San Paolo.
Napoli led in Germany through Piotr Zielinski’s 32nd-minute opener and Lorenzo Insigne’s 86th-minute strike gave them hope of success but their fifth consecutive victory away from home was not enough.
Fellow Serie A side Lazio overturned a first-leg deficit as Ciro Immobile bagged a hat-trick in their 5-1 thrashing of Steaua Bucharest. The visitors to Rome held a 1-0 advantage but Immobile’s treble and further strikes from Bastos and Felipe Anderson, eased Lazio through.
Atletico Madrid, favourites to win the competition, eased into the last 16 after a 5-1 aggregate success against Copenhagen, with Kevin Gameiro scoring in a 1-0 second-leg win for Atleti.
Lyon, whose stadium will host the final, also won 1-0 at Villarreal to secure a 4-1 aggregate success. Lokomotiv Moscow eliminated another French outfit Nice as their 1-0 victory gave them a 4-2 aggregate win, while Dynamo Kiev’s 0-0 draw with AEK Athens saw the former progress by virtue of the away-goals rule.
