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Celtic 3-2 Besiktas - Europa League - report, reaction, stats, what they said

BBC News •
November 04, 2026 • 03:00 AM
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Substitutes Callum Osmand and Camilo Duran inspire Celtic to their first Europa League win of the season, a chaotic comeback victory against Turkish giants Besiktas.

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That brings an end to our live text coverage on a mixed night for Scotland's European representatives.

You can read our match reports of Celtic's win and Hearts' defeat on our site and visit their dedicated BBC Sport pages to have your say.

And you can scroll down for reaction from the managers and the pundits.

We'll be back over the weekend with coverage of the domestic action.

Wouter Vrancken was extremely disappointed by Hearts' defeat to Swiss champions Thun earlier this evening.

Click play below to get the post-match verdict from the Belgian and get more reaction here .

Hearts boss Vrancken on Thun defeat

Aged 20 years 362 days, Callum Osmand is the youngest player to score in Europe (excluding qualifiers) for Celtic since Liel Abada in November 2021, against Ferencvaros in the Europa League.

Celtic will have the opportunity to build more momentum when they welcome struggling Kilmarnock on Sunday (16:00 GMT).

If Rangers win at St Mirren on Saturday night, their lead at the top will be just a single point by the time they kick off at Parkhead.

Camilo Duran became the first substitute to score two goals in a major European competition for Celtic since Johannes Edvaldsson against Jeunesse d'Esch in the European Cup in September 1977.

Another Martin O’Neill night of rope-a-dope. Italy won the World Cup in '82 that way and O’Neill has made a career of it. Have to respect his genius.

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill tells TNT Sports: "A really good performance. Hearts and soul into the game. Just when I thought we were going to drop two points, we came back again. So much spirit.

"It's been tough in Europe, tonight was tough. We always still think about trying to qualify - at least we've given ourselves a chance.

"We made some changes, freshened things up. We have to give the opportunity [to players] because we play a lot of games in quick succession.

"The crowd gives us something and tonight was particularly special. It reminded me of the olden days."

On the topic of Martin O'Neill, he's given a brief post-match reaction to TNT Sports.

Let's see what the Celtic boss had to say...

Tom English BBC Scotland's chief sports writer on Sportsound

We didn't see it coming because the people who turned it around weren't involved for the first half of the game.

Duran and Osmand were immense when they came on. It all happened when the three lads came on off the bench and they never looked back.

Massive turnaround, massive relief for Martin O'Neill, a massive relief for the fans and maybe a reminder to O'Neill that in a must-win European game you should play your best players from the start.

Craig Halkett Hearts centre-back on TNT Sports

Camilo Duran has shown time and time again he can score goals.

He was the big-money singing but it's not coming off for Hogh.

As a player you need to keep your head down, keep working hard and hope it turns.

On an ultimately positive night, the talk around Kasper Hogh's place in the Celtic team won't go anywhere after this.

In an hour on the park, the club's record signing didn't have a single shot and managed just one touch in the opposition box.

Camilo Duran, meanwhile, played just half an hour and scored two goals, had two shots, and registered four touches in the Besiktas box.

James McFadden Former Scotland forward on BBC Sportsound

This has to go down as a huge positive for Celtic tonight. They've got a victory in Europe. Not many of the fans that showed up here tonight would've been expecting a win.

Celtic forward Callum Osmand tells TNT Sports: "This is a great team we're playing against. Camilo [Duran] did amazing, he's such a poacher. Credit to him.

"It's a lot harder starting games. The team dug in, stayed strong and we got our rewards.

"[The goal] caught me off guard, but I'm just glad I caught it nice. I just want to come on and make something happen. So happy with tonight.

"It felt like Celta Vigo when they scored that worldie. We got ourselves back up to win the game."

Duran, Duran.

Best team on Planet Earth!

Stiliyan Petrov Former Celtic midfielder on TNT Sports

Much braver. Everything changed with the subs; Osmand coming on and Duran going through the middle.

They freed up space for Nygren and Baur. It was a really positive 30 minutes.

The victory still keeps Celtic in the bottom 12 of the Europa League table.

There's a lot of work to do with four fixtures remaining, but things certainly look brighter after that.

The atmosphere looks and sounds a whole lot different now at Parkhead as the players embark on a lap of appreciation.

A massive win in Celtic's bid for Europa League progression.

Thomas Duncan BBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park

Camilo Duran scored twice as Celtic came from behind to defeat Besiktas

Substitutes Callum Osmand and Camilo Duran inspired Celtic to their first Europa League win of the season, a chaotic comeback victory against Turkish giants Besiktas.

Junior Olaitan's goal - a rebound after Sam Johnstone saved his penalty - looked like condemning Celtic to a grim club record of five consecutive defeats in European competition.

But Martin O'Neill's side were transformed after a triple substitution just after the hour mark, when Osmand, Duran and Colby Donovan entered the fray.

Osmand and Duran scored three times between them, and Osmand also grabbed an assist in a chaotic final half hour during which Celtic came from behind to lead, and were then pegged back, before Duran won it on 87 minutes.

Just 43 seconds after Osmand entered the pitch, Callum McGregor read a pass into midfield by Besiktas and pinched possession, before feeding the 20-year-old substitute.

Osmand did the rest as he drove up to the edge of the box and drilled the ball low past Alexander Nubel to level the game.

'Hard but fair' - Celtic board & O'Neill grilled by fans

Donovan plea for Celtic togetherness amid fan unrest

From there, the previously flat crowd roared into life and Celtic's intensity completely changed.

Liam Scales had a header pushed over from a corner and Osmand slipped in Benjamin Nygren, who whipped a right-footed shot just over the crossbar.

But Osmand was not done there, as he then teed up Duran, who stayed calm to round Nubel and slide the ball home.

Then, came an unexpected twist. Orkun Kokcu wrestled momentum back for Besiktas with a belting strike from the edge of the box which flew past Johnstone.

However, Celtic's response was almost instant. Kieran Tierney drove forward and scuffed his shot, but it fell for Duran to side-foot home from close range and - after a check for offside - Celtic Park went berserk.

Almost cheered as loudly was Johnstone's terrific take from a Besiktas cross, which signalled the end of the game and a desperately needed Europa League win for Celtic.

As European nights at Celtic Park go, this will go down as one of the strangest. Until the triple substitution on the hour mark, nobody in the grand old stadium could see a Celtic response coming.

They had just two touches in Besiktas' box in the first half, barely laying a glove on their visitors.

And when Johnstone's poor kick out was followed by Jordan Lotomba's rash challenge on Ernest Poku and a Besiktas penalty, the writing was on the wall for a side who looked utterly bereft of confidence.

However, Osmand and Duran completely transformed the energy of the Celtic team. They inspired their team-mates - and supporters - with their energy and willingness to run with the ball and play positively.

While Kasper Hogh, now 15 games without a goal, appeared hesitant, Osmand showed incisiveness with his first touch to surge forward and lash in.

Duran, now on 13 goals for the season, also demonstrated his usual sharpness and composure amid the bedlam of a revitalised Celtic Park, which had plenty of empty seats amid ongoing fan unrest.

O'Neill has admitted he still is unsure of his best XI, but the 74-year-old will now surely have to include Osmand and Duran whenever possible.

As good as the victory feels, the substitutes' performances will not mask everything about Celtic's recent problems. But they could be the catalyst to inject some desperately needed confidence.

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

Last Updated 5th November 2026 at 22:15

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