Celtic 2-0 Ferencvaros TC: Scottish side earn first Europa League group win

David Turnbull profited from a poor clearance to score Celtic's second goal

Celtic salvaged their Europa League knockout hopes with a hard-fought win over Hungarian champions Ferencvaros.

Balint Vecsei's unfortunate own goal confirmed victory after Callum McGregor's earlier penalty miss had prolonged Celtic's nerves in Glasgow.

It meant a near full Celtic Park was able to celebrate a first group stage win following a difficult start.

• Reaction & as it happened

The opening defeats by Real Betis and Bayer Leverkusen meant Celtic had to win to have any chance of progressing in this competition, a fact acknowledged by manager Ange Postecoglou before the match.

Despite the unusual 15:30 BST kick-off time, partly due to Glasgow's hosting of the United Nations' COP26 Climate Conference, a bumper crowd turned out at Celtic Park to help their team on their mission.

They were the more assertive side in the opening 45 minutes but were held at arm's length by Ferencvaros, who decided to sit off and deny their hosts the space they crave.

Kyogo cut a frustrated figure up front as he struggled to sneak off the shoulder of his markers, with influential winger Jota coming closest with two efforts which Ferencvaros goalkeeper Denes Dibusz did well to keep out.

The Benfica loanee is growing in stature each week at Celtic, and it was his driving run from his own half and pinpoint pass that finally released Kyogo in behind the Ferencvaros backline, as the Japan forward stayed composed to cushion the ball into his path and stroke home the opening goal.

The relief at Celtic Park was evident, and there was further elation three minutes later as Adam Montgomery cleverly drew a foul from Henry Wingo to earn a penalty which gave the home side the chance to all but secure a precious win.

But Celtic have rarely looked convincing for 90 minutes this season and Dibusz read McGregor's spot kick and dived brilliantly to his left to keep the score at 1-0 and set up a nervous ending.

However, Ferencvaros' promise of a brave, attacking display failed to materialise as Celtic kept their foot on the throttle, eventually being rewarded with 10 minutes left.

McGregor's excellent tackle allowed Jota to tee up Turnbull, and despite the Scotland midfielder making a meal of a simple tap in, an attempted clearance appeared to hit off Vecsei and found the top corner.

Postecoglou's men had later chances to make the win more emphatic - and also a few defensive scares - but ultimately got the win they desperately craved.

Man of the match - Callum McGregor

Despite his penalty miss, McGregor (right) dictated the game for Celtic

What did we learn?

This was a much-needed convincing victory for Celtic on the European stage, having conceded four goals in losing five of their last six Europa League group games.

McGregor was outstanding at the base of midfield, getting on the ball more than any of his team-mates, completing all but three of his 107 passes, and recovering possession seven times, pressing brilliantly to win the ball and ultimately tee up the second goal. His importance to the way Celtic play is hard to overestimate.

Another positive was the continued excellent form of Jota, who now has seven goal involvements in nine games for Celtic, and looks like a player with the technical ability to get better and better.

Postecoglou will also be delighted with a second consecutive clean sheet given their defensive frailties this season, although Ferencvaros did not bring the dynamism on the counter attack that was expected, and Joe Hart and Anthony Ralston still had to make crucial interventions to keep the visitors out.

There is still much for this team to prove, but a more settled squad and three straight wins will help to improve cohesion and confidence.