Celtic 1-2 Lazio: Pedro scores at death to leave Scots bottom of group

Celtic endured late heartbreak as Pedro’s 95th-minute winner consigned the defending Scottish champions to another Champions League defeat.

However, indecision in the home defence was punished midway through the first half as Matias Vecino was afforded space to glance in a header.

Brendan Rodgers’ side thought they had snatched a late winner through Luis Palma only for the video assistant referee (VAR) to intervene, and Celtic’s anguish would grow further as the Italians dramatically struck with just seconds left.

With Atletico Madrid beating Feyenoord 3-2 in Spain, it means Celtic, who have now not won at home in the Champions League for 10 years, sit bottom of Group E with no points after two games before a double-header against the Spaniards.

Nightmarish traffic around Glasgow’s east end meant a fair few fans were not in their seats for kick-off. They missed Celtic motoring to quite a start under the Champions League lights.

Little surprise then when the home side accelerated to just the reward their early play deserved. Matt O’Riley’s pass into Kyogo was perfect for the Japanese to hit the ball underneath keeper Ivan Provedel.

The Italians flattered to deceive in the game’s first quarter, but they eventually awoke to peg their hosts back; Vecino’s header creeping agonisingly over the line by a foot or so before Hart clawed it clear.

Both sides exchanged chances before the break, but the visitors should have taken the lead five minutes after the restart. Felipe Anderson raced in on the right side of the box, only to hesitate and harmlessly prod an effort wide.

The bumper home crowd were then nearly celebrating another Celtic goal. Reo Hatate’s low shot from an O’Riley free-kick lay off brought a smart save from Provedel before right-back Alastair Johnston blasted over. You had the sense something was coming.

And in the 81st minute, Celtic Park thought that something had arrived. Palma’s snapshot found the bottom corner with a fine finish, only for a prolonged VAR check to bring wild celebrations to a shuddering halt.

While that felt bad for the home support, things would get worse in the dwindling seconds. The returning Cameron Carter-Vickers was robbed of possession, with Matteo Guendouzi’s perfect cross being nodded back across Hart and into the bottom corner by Pedro.

Player of the match – Luis Alberto

Frustration the feeling for Celtic – analysis

The overriding feeling here is one of frustration for Celtic.

They started like a house on fire, got the goal their early energy deserved, then fell out of things for a while to allow Lazio to level. Never outclassed, they matched the Serie A side after the break and thought they had taken three precious Champions League points for the first time in a decade when Palma blasted in.

Denied by VAR, Celtic not only failed to find a winner, they could not keep Lazio out.

More Champions League pain for Celtic, who have a difficult double-header with Atletico Madrid in store for them next in this competition. Yet to get off the mark in the group, it is a real uphill battle for them now to stay in Europe this season.

What’s next?

Celtic host Kilmarnock on Scottish Premiership duty on Saturday (15:00 BST), before their Champions League campaign resumes with Atletico Madrid coming to town on 25 October (20:00).

What the stats say

• Celtic are now without a win in their last 11 Champions League home games (D2 L9), failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 16 at Celtic Park, with only three sides enduring longer runs without a home win in the competition – FCSB (13, 1996-2013), Lille (13, 2006-2021) and Club Brugge (12, 2016-2020).
• Lazio won a Champions League game after conceding the first goal for the first time since October 2000 against Shakhtar Donetsk (5-1).
• Lazio are now unbeaten in their past eight Champions League group stage games (W3 D5), their joint-longest run in the competition (including the 2nd group stage) along with their first eight fixtures in the competition in 1999-00 (W5 D3).
• Matt O’Riley registered his 20th assist in all competitions since his debut for Celtic in January 2022, more than any other player for the club in that time (Jota next on 19).
• Pedro’s winner for Lazio was, at 94 minutes 57 seconds, the fifth-latest winner in a Champions League game since 2003-04.
• This game saw four Japanese players start a Champions League game for the first time ever – Reo Hatete, Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda for Celtic, and Daichi Kamada for Lazio.