Celtic 3-2 Besiktas. Camilo Duran scored twice, including an 87th-minute winner, as Celtic came through a chaotic five-goal second half at Celtic Park to beat Besiktas and claim their first points of the Europa League campaign.
After a goalless first half, this game exploded into one of the most frantic forty-five minutes of the European season. A saved penalty that still produced a goal, a substitute scoring 43 seconds after coming on, a brace from Duran, a late Besiktas equaliser that looked to have broken Celtic hearts — and then a winner three minutes from time. Celtic, who began the night on zero points, finally have their campaign alive. The drama is all detailed in the Celtic Way's live match coverage, with the result also recorded on Sportradar.
A goalless half, then absolute chaos
Nothing in a tight, scoreless first half prepared Celtic Park for what followed. Besiktas struck first on 54 minutes in bizarre fashion: Jordan Lotomba conceded a penalty, Sam Johnstone saved Junior Olaitan's spot-kick, and Olaitan reacted quickest to score from the rebound. Celtic, bottom of the standings without a point, were staring at another damaging night.
Martin O'Neill responded from the bench, and the response was instant. Callum Osmand came on and, 43 seconds later, converted a Callum McGregor assist to level the scores on 62 minutes. Celtic Park sensed the turnaround, and on 78 minutes it arrived: Osmand turned provider and Camilo Duran put Celtic 2-1 ahead. From despair to delirium in sixteen minutes — but the night had one more twist in each direction still to come.
Kokcu breaks hearts, Duran mends them
Besiktas refused to fold. On 85 minutes Ernest Poku set up Orkun Kokcu to make it 2-2, and the away end celebrated what looked like a point rescued from a game they had led and then lost. Celtic's players could have let their heads drop — this season in Europe has given them practice at disappointment, in a week when Scottish sides have endured mixed fortunes, as Hearts' defeat at Thun showed.
Instead, two minutes later, Celtic went again — and Duran scored his second of the night to make it 3-2. The 87th-minute winner sparked scenes of pure relief as much as joy. Celtic had led, been pegged back, and found a way to win anyway, with Duran the hero of a night few inside Celtic Park will forget quickly.
So what does this mean for Celtic and Besiktas?
For Celtic, the table finally moves: from 35th place and zero points to a campaign that is alive. Just as important is how the win came — substitutes changing the game, senior players like McGregor driving the comeback, and a young forward in Duran deciding a European tie. O'Neill needed a spark to ignite Celtic's season in this competition, and his bench gave him one. Carry this momentum forward and the play-off places no longer look like a fantasy.
For Besiktas, this is a defeat that will be replayed in their heads for weeks. They led through Olaitan, fought back to 2-2 through Kokcu with five minutes left, and still left Glasgow with nothing. Conceding a winner two minutes after equalising is a failure of game management at exactly the moment it mattered most, and in a league phase this tight, those are the moments that decide who survives into the new year.
Beyond the Final Whistle: five goals, a saved penalty scored on the rebound, a substitute on the scoresheet inside a minute and a brace decided at the death — Celtic's first win of this campaign had absolutely everything. Is this the night Celtic's European season finally turns? Let us know in the comments.
