Celtic vs M'gladbach. UEFA Champions League Group C.
Celtic ParkAttendance57,814.
Thursday 20 October 2016 19:09, UK
Celtic's chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League were dealt a huge blow as they were beaten 2-0 by Borussia Monchengladbach at Celtic Park.
The Hoops had lost one and drawn one of their opening games in Group C and were ultimately outclassed by their Bundesliga opponents on Wednesday evening.
Gladbach captain Lars Stindl - who was outstanding for the visitors - broke the deadlock in the 57th minute with Andre Hahn adding a second 13 minutes from time.
Celtic's 21-game unbeaten run at home in all competitions comes to an end as they drop to bottom of the group, while Monchengladbach move up to third with their first win of the Champions League campaign.
Gladbach dominated the first half, and could have gone in front inside five minutes as Hahn's effort was brilliantly blocked by Kolo Toure in the box. It was a taster of what was to come from the visitors.
Celtic could have bundled home an opener in the 14th minute but Moussa Dembele - who was largely ineffective during the game - couldn't connect with a bobbling ball in the air after a Scott Sinclair corner.
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon made two crucial saves to keep his side in the tie during the opening period as he faced wave after wave of Gladbach attack.
The first came in the 19th minute as Ibrahima Traore let rip from the top of the box, but the stopper got down to keep it out, before pouncing on the rebound ahead of the incoming Hahn. He was at it again eight minutes later, going high this time to keep out a thunderous effort from Jonas Hoffman.
Toure was again called into defensive action not long after to deny Tobias Strobl a one-on-one shot with the goalkeeper after some superb one-two play between himself and Stindl.
Celtic's best chance of the half came in the final minute as Tom Rogic picked out a great run from Sinclair on the left of the box, but the striker fired his shot over the crossbar with his first touch.
The Hoops put in a much better showing in the second half as Sinclair headed wide of the post in the opening minutes before Dembele picked him out in the box, but he couldn't find another Celtic team-mate to complete the attack.
Gladbach got their goal just before the hour mark, as Toure failed to see the ball out properly as he marked Hahn on the byline, allowing it to remain in the box and was met by Strindl, who fired home from a tight angle - slipping the shot through the legs of Gordon.
Celtic reacted well to going behind as Brendan Rodgers rang the attacking changes, bringing on Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts in quick succession, but it was the Germans who added their second in the 77th minute.
A poor pass from Toure saw the ball into the path of Stindl who set Hahn off on a break towards goal, and despite the best efforts of the defenders to close him down, they couldn't prevent his effort firing into the top of the net.
The hosts could have pulled one back with 10 minutes to play as Roberts turned Oliver Wendt into knots on the right flank, before crossing for Dembele in the box, but his shot on the turn was smothered by the Gladbach defence.
The Bundesliga side saw the game out with relative ease despite long spells of possession from Celtic to end a frustrating night for the hosts.
