Brendan Rodgers bemoaned a lack of quality after Celtic’s interest in Europe ended with a 2-0 defeat in the Champions League by Lazio in Rome.
The Hoops went into the make-or-break game with one point from four Group E matches but were undone with two late goals from the home side’s classy substitute Ciro Immobile.
Celtic were awarded a penalty in added time for a push on substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu inside the box but it was overturned when VAR intervened and sent referee Halil Umut Meler to the pitchside monitor for another look.
The Parkhead outfit, without Luis Palma, Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Liel Abada through suspension or injury, will finish bottom in their Champions League group for the second consecutive season.
Rodgers was quoted on bbc.co.uk/sport saying: “It’s the overall quality. We need to have our very best players available.
“What makes the difference is that bit of experience and genuine quality. That’s something we can hopefully resolve over the next couple of windows.
“This group has gained more experience and shown they can compete in some games – but we need to add quality. That’s the glaring thing that stands out.
“Sadly for us, over the course of all the games, we’ve been hampered with our squad and availability. At this level, for us, that’s the very minimum.
“But I have to commend the players that have been playing. They have given everything. The game was very competitive right the way through.
“We lose two goals but the effort and commitment was there.
“In the last 20 minutes we looked like the team that could go on and get the result, but we gave away two poor goals.
“The first one, we’re in a great position up the pitch and we lose possession and never recover our shape. Then they get a bit of luck with the deflection. That was a tough one to take.
“For the second goal, we obviously need to be stronger and better.”
The Scottish champions finished on two points in the Champions League last season and they have their final match at home to Feyenoord next month to improve on that tally.
Rodgers said: “We want to finish on a high. We want to win in front of our own supporters.
“Our support has been incredible, travelling all round Europe. They haven’t seen us win and we’d love to give them that victory at home and finish off with a positive result.”
Scaloni 'not here to criticise' Argentina after shock Paraguay defeat
Lionel Scaloni says he is "not here to criticise his players" after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Paraguay in World Cup qualifying.
Lautaro Martinez had given Argentina the lead in the 11th minute – his powerful shot past Roberto Fernandez was initially ruled out for offside before a VAR review overturned it.
However, Paraguay were soon back on level terms. Gustavo Gomez rattled the crossbar with a diving header from a corner, but they regathered possession and pulled level with a sublime overhead kick from Antonio Sanabria 19 minutes in.
Two minutes into the second half, the hosts completed the turnaround through Omar Alderete, who met Diego Gomez's precise free-kick to nod in from close range.
Rodrigo De Paul arguably should have equalised for Argentina with just over 20 minutes to go, but under pressure, sliced over from close range, with the visitors unable to salvage a point.
It was a third defeat in World Cup qualifying for the Albiceleste, who remain top of the standings with 22 points, and Scaloni chose to focus on the positives.
"I'm not here to criticise my players; I'm here to support them," Scaloni said. "We knew it was going to be a tough match. We're here to move forward.
"In the first half, we played a good game, but the first action at the start of the second half made everything more difficult. We have to congratulate the opponent, who defended very well.
"I don't know if they found the antidote [to beating Argentina]. We're hoping to get back on the positive path.
"The team always tries and stands tall. That's what's important: never giving up on the game and always having the desire to compete."
Paraguay are sixth in the table, having extended their unbeaten run to six matches, which also includes a win over Brazil.
They had to dig deep, having only 23.2% possession throughout the game, though they had eight shots to Argentina's nine and scored with both of their efforts on target.
Head coach Gustavo Alfaro is yet to lose a game since taking over Paraguay after the Copa America, and he hailed his team's resilience.
"With the rebelliousness of these players in the face of adversity, I have no doubt that we will get there. When the predisposition is so great, time is secondary," he said.
"They were fantastic points, very difficult. It is difficult to take a point from Argentina."
Real Madrid hit Twente for seven, five-star Wolfsburg also win big
Real Madrid had six different goalscorers as they trounced Twente 7-0 in the Women's Champions League on Wednesday, while Wolfsburg beat Galatasaray 5-0.
Signe Bruun opened the scoring three minutes into the Group B encounter at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, then Maria Mendez's header gave Madrid a 2-0 half-time lead.
Madrid, who had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the tournament, got a third through Naomie Feller five minutes into the second half, then Caroline Weir made it 4-0 with a brilliant free-kick.
Mendez headed home her second of the encounter shortly after the hour mark, while Oihane Hernandez and Carla Camacho got on the scoresheet late on to complete the rout.
The victory took Madrid second in the Group B standings ahead of Chelsea's trip to Celtic.
Wolfsburg were also convincing victors in Group A, getting off the mark for this season's competition as Rebecka Blomqvist scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 thrashing of Galatasaray.
The Bundesliga side – who failed to pick up a point or score a goal in their opening two matches – had a narrow 1-0 lead at half-time through Joelle Wedemeyer, before Blomqvist took centre-stage in the second period.
She tapped home after Janina Minge struck the crossbar, then added her second goal in the 77th minute and her third six minutes into stoppage time.
Vivien Endemann powered home a fifth for Wolfsburg one minute later, as they provisionally moved within three points of Lyon and Roma ahead of their meeting.
Taylor pleased with City's physical test during Hammarby win
Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.
City's win extended their unbeaten start to the season, having won every game in all competitions following a 2-2 draw against Arsenal on opening day.
“Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game
“I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.
“[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.
“At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.
“I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”
The victory leaves City top of their Champions League group with a 100% record after three matches, three points above second-placed Barcelona.
Taylor had made changes to City's starting XI, with Lauren Hemp among the trio to drop out from the weekend and she did not feature in the squad. Ahead of their weekend game against Chelsea, who are second in the WSL, Taylor explained the reasoning behind Hemp's absence.
“We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.
“It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.
“Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”
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