They are 35th of 36 teams in the competition after another European collapse, this time against Celta Vigo. Only Ararat-Armenia and their inferior goal difference keeps the Scottish champions from propping up the table. Off the back of Sunday's 7-1 drubbing of Hearts, there was hope Martin O'Neill's team had turned a corner.
Instead, the disparity between their domestic dominance and European shortcomings was laid bare once more. After Mika Baur swept Celtic in front on 47 minutes, they went into their shells and succumbed to a timid 2-1 defeat as Javi Rodriguez struck twice in three minutes. O'Neill bemoaned refereeing decisions and marginal moments that went against his team, but are Celtic simply "not good enough" to compete in Europe?
That was the verdict of former Scotland attacker James McFadden after a Celtic collapse that is becoming all too familiar. "The performances at this level haven't been good enough," he said on Sportsound. "Celtic are way short." Celtic suffer third Europa League defeat in row after Celta Vigo turnaround Latest Celtic news, analysis and fan views Celtic looked nailed on for the Champions League this season when they went into a 4-0 aggregate lead against Austrian champions LASK in the play-off round, before shipping five goals in 77 minutes to drop into the Europa League.
O'Neill's side have now lost their last four European matches, conceding 14 goals in the process. Only once before had they done so in the same season - in the 2017-18 Champions League. "It seems as though Celtic struggle when there's a bit of adversity," McFadden added.
"If something goes against them, the confidence drops, their heads drop, they stop playing forward. "The ball goes back and across, inviting pressure, and there's no way they take the pressure off. That has been a theme." After another disappointing night, O'Neill focused on moments that went against his team - a free-kick not given before Celta's equaliser and a Liam Scales header that flicked the top of the bar at 1-0.
"We conceded a free-kick and I thought a second before that we should have had a foul for us," O'Neill said. "They score from the free-kick and it knocks us a little bit. It gave them a bit of momentum.
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