Ten-man Celtic surrender two-goal lead to draw with Bologna in Europa League

Ten-man Celtic lost a two-goal half-time lead but held on for what could be a precious Europa League point in Bologna.

Reo Hatate opened the scoring early on before collecting two yellow cards in three minutes.

Auston Trusty doubled Celtic’s lead but Martin O’Neill’s side came under sustained pressure after the interval and goals from Thijs Dallinga and Jonathan Rowe brought Bologna level.

Although the Italian side managed 37 attempts at goal in total, both teams had chances to win it before the game finished 2-2.

The Celtic fans celebrated the result, which puts their team on eight points ahead of their final game against the already eliminated Utrecht at Parkhead next week. A win should see Celtic qualify for the playoff round.

Former Aberdeen and Hamilton midfielder Lewis Ferguson came back into the Bologna team to captain the side but was left looking for a first career win over Celtic after his 17th attempt.

Hatate opened the scoring in the sixth minute after a gift from Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski, who passed the ball straight to centre-forward Daizen Maeda. The Japan forward squared the ball for his compatriot to roll into an empty net.

Skorupski partially redeemed himself moments later as he clawed Yang Hyun-jun’s shot over the bar after Hatate’s pass threatened to get Maeda in behind. Liam Scales almost scrambled home the resulting corner.

The game quickly turned though as Kasper Schmeichel made his first save, from Nadir Zortea, when Celtic were briefly down to 10 men as Maeda sorted trouble with a contact lens.

The hosts kept up the pressure. Callum McGregor produced a goal-saving challenge following slack play from Hatate and Trusty delivered a series of blocks and interventions in the penalty box.

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