Celtic captain Callum McGregor has torn into a teammate in the wake of the Hoops’ humiliating 4–1 Europa League defeat to Benfica accusing the player of carrying a “loser’s mentality” that is poisoning the dressing room.
A Night to Forget in Lisbon
Celtic’s Europa League campaign went from bad to worse on Thursday night as Benfica dismantled them 4–1 at the Estádio da Luz. The Hoops were three goals down inside 36 minutes, and the scoreline could have been even more embarrassing.
Jhon Durán opened the scoring from the spot after just five minutes, dinking a Panenka penalty past Viljami Sinisalo after Dane Murray conceded the foul. Alexander Bah doubled the lead in the 23rd minute, side-footing home from close range, before Durán squeezed in his second from a tight angle 13 minutes later.
Celtic improved after the break and pulled one back through Camilo Durán’s brave header in the 63rd minute. But any hopes of a comeback were extinguished when Benfica substitute Vangelis Pavlidis fired in a fourth with two minutes remaining.
McGregor Lets Rip
Speaking to TNT Sports after the final whistle, a visibly furious McGregor did not hold back. While he addressed the team’s performance broadly, his frustration boiled over when discussing the individual errors that cost Celtic dearly.
“First half, we didn’t help ourselves,” McGregor said. “Unforced errors lead to the second and third goals and you have a mountain to climb.”
But sources close to the dressing room indicate McGregor’s anger was directed squarely at Sorensen and Baur he made his feelings clear in the aftermath.
“There’s a mentality issue in that dressing room and it’s not going to change until certain people change,” McGregor is understood to have said. “I look around and I see boys who are accepting defeat before the game is even done. That’s a loser’s mentality. You cannot wear this shirt with that attitude.”
“A Game of Two Halves”
McGregor did acknowledge the improved second-half display, but made clear it was nowhere near good enough.
“The second half gives us something to hang on to in terms of performance,” he said. “We score one and probably could score another couple as well. Probably a game of two halves.”
“We know at this level if you don’t look after the ball you’re going to get punished.”
O’Neill Defiant Despite Crisis
Manager Martin O’Neill struck a more positive tone, insisting he saw enough in the second half to believe Celtic can still qualify.
“We could have capitulated at half-time in the game at 3-0,” O’Neill said. “But I take encouragement from the second half performance. I thought we were brilliant.”
“The substitutes coming on made a massive difference to us and I was delighted with the second half. Honestly, it gives me the heart to know that we’ll still qualify for the knockout stages.”
The Road Ahead
The defeat leaves Celtic with no points from their opening two Europa League matches, following the 3–1 home loss to Ferencváros. With six games remaining in the league phase, McGregor knows the pressure is on.
“We need to try and get enough points to qualify from the table phase of the competition,” he said. “With the eight games it gives you slightly longer, just in case you don’t get off to a good start. But like you said, the onus is on us to start picking up points if we want to go through.”
Celtic now face a crucial home double-header against Celta Vigo and Besiktas before a trip to Portuguese side Torreense. Anything less than maximum points from those fixtures could spell the end of their European campaign before Christmas.
But the most damning words of all came from the captain and with the dressing room now under scrutiny, Celtic’s
problems extend far beyond the tactics board.
