Celtic held Bologna to a 2-2 draw in the Europa League despite playing with 10 players for over an hour, with Martin ONeill praising the side for securing a point away from home that keeps European progress alive and reflecting on a match that swung sharply after a first-half red card.
The result leaves Celtic 24th in the league phase table ahead of the final matchday next week, with a victory enough to secure a playoff spot, and ONeill also acknowledged that Rangers beating Ludogorets has improved Celtic’s situation by opening a clearer route into the knockout rounds.
Celtic started strongly when Reo Hatate scored after five minutes, and Auston Trusty later added a second before half-time, yet Bologna recovered after the interval to claim a draw
against the short-handed visitors, who had to reorganise after Hatate received two quick yellow cards just after the half-hour mark.
The contest also carried historic significance for Celtic, as this was the club’s 332nd game in major European competition, and Hatate became the first Celtic player to score and then be sent off in the same European match for the Scottish side.
Bologna created heavy pressure throughout the match and finished with 36 attempts on goal, the joint second-highest total by any team in a Europa League fixture, with only Wolfsburg’s 39 efforts against Everton in November 2014 higher, while Kasper Schmeichel produced seven saves to preserve Celtic’s valuable away point.
A well deserved point for the Bhoys #BolognaCeltic | #UEL | #CelticFCpic.twitter.com/4N5jQrtrIzCeltic Football Club (@CelticFC) January 22, 2026
After the match, ONeill stressed that the performance merited at least a draw and praised the players’ response to the setback, saying, It was a magnificent effort by the team. They put heart and soul into it
, as Celtic extended a sequence of European games where two-goal advantages have not led to wins.
ONeill then highlighted the way the dismissal reshaped the contest and pointed to the character shown in defence, explaining, To play 60-odd minutes with 10 men and to show the sort of character that is supposedly lacking in this teamI dont see it at all. The sending off changes the course of the game in many aspects and theres a long way to go, but the spirit of the side was terrific and the crowd helped us the whole way through. It would have been a real shame if we had lost the game and the players were really out on their feet in the last 10 minutes, but they kept going. What it does for us, the point at least takes it into the final game and what weve done is given ourselves a bit of hope.
Although Celtic have now failed to win any of the last four European matches in which a 2-0 lead was established, this draw in Bologna leaves qualification still possible, with ONeill pointing to the players’ commitment, the support from the fans, and the late favour from Rangers as reasons the team travels into the decisive final league-phase fixture with genuine, if narrow, hope.
