Fredy Guarin struck a late winner for Inter as Roberto Mancini’s men qualified for the last 16 of the Europa League with a 4-3 aggregate victory over 10-man Celtic on Thursday.
Celtic traveled to Italy hoping to build on the solid performance that earned them a 3-3 draw at Parkhead last week.
However Ronny Deila’s were reduced to 10 men in the first half when Virgil van Dijk saw red for a second bookable offense, leaving the visitors chasing the ball for much of the remainder before Guarin beat goalkeeper Craig Gordon two minutes from time with a long-range screamer.
Photo: Reuters
Deila refused to point the finger at Van Dijk, but said: “We came through the game at Celtic Park at 3-3 and it was an even match before the sending off.”
“Tonight, things happened in the game that ruined it for us,” he said. “It made it very difficult for us and we had to work very hard defensively.”
Inter coach Mancini was satisfied with the result, but told Mediaset: “We ran quite a risk at the start, a goal could have changed everything for us.”
Photo: Reuters
“Then the sending-off made it all easier, but there are still a lot of aspects we have to improve on,” he said. “We have to take fewer risks in defense for example and stop losing balls that can offer our opponents counterattacking opportunities.”
Celtic’s supporters traveled in their thousands and were given hope in the opening minutes when the ball landed at the feet of midfielder Gary Mackay-Steven, but Inter keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo did well to block.
Their hopes were dented just after the half hour when Van Dijk, who was cautioned in the 26th minute for a strong challenge on Rodrigo Palacio, saw red following a tackle on striker Mauro Icardi.
Celtic tried to plug the gap, with Efe Ambrose coming on to replace Mackay-Steven, but Inter almost immediately capitalized on their numerical advantage.
Gordon was forced to pull off a great save from an Icardi’s free-kick and defender Andrea Ranocchia went close with a header from a corner before the halftime interval.
In the second half, Icardi and Palacio combined to set up and Xherdan Shaqiri, but the Swiss international’s header went wide.
Colombian international Guarin’s long-range drive went over Gordon’s crossbar minutes later and the goalkeeper was cautioned for taking too long to take the goal-kick.
Celtic’s chances were few and far between, although Kris Commons, a late replacement for Stuart Armstrong, tested Carrizo with a long-range drive after taking possession just inside Inter’s half.
With three away goals, Inter already had some assurance of making it to the last 16, although Guarin put the result beyond any doubt with a brilliant strike from distance in the 88th minute that left Gordon with no chance.
Three other Italian clubs — SSC Napoli, ACF Fiorentina and Torino — also advanced to the last 16.
Defending champions Sevilla progressed by beating Borussia Moenchengladbach 3-2, to advance 4-2 on aggregate. Also through were Everton, Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, VfL Wolfsburg, Club Brugge KV from Belgium, Villarreal, Russian outfits Zenit St Petersburg, and Dynamo Moscow.
After a 1-1 first leg, Fiorentina beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 with second-half goals from Mario Gomez and Mohamed Salah, who has three goals in five matches since joining the Tuscan club on loan from Chelsea.
Napoli added to their 4-0 first-leg cushion with a 1-0 win over Turkish club Trabzonspor, Italy international Matteo Darmian scored the winner for Torino, who won 3-2 against Athletic Bilbao to go through on 5-4 aggregate, while Ajax advanced over Legia Warsaw.
Additional reporting by AP
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