O'Neill defiant in defeat but Celtic's 'flat-track bullies' fail another big test

Celtic have now lost two Europa League group games, as well as two derbies – but Martin O'Neill is adamant he can see positive signs. Celtic manager Martin O'Neill chose to focus on the second-half positives from his side's 4-1 Europa League defeat by Benfica and insisted they can still reach the knockout stages despite their slow start. In stark contrast, Chris Sutton branded his former side as "flat-track bullies". Celtic have lost four of their past five games. Every high-stakes match this term – both meetings with Rangers and both European outings – has ended in a defeat. By the time their performance improved in Lisbon on Thursday, they were three goals down and effectively already out of the contest, hamstrung by their own sloppy mistakes.

Dane Murray upended Jhon Duran to concede a penalty inside four minutes, an error which characterised the first 45 minutes. Sebastian Tounekti then allowed Alexander Bah to run past him for Benfica's second and goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo was beaten too easily as Duran scored the hosts' third. Visit our Celtic page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views Camilo Duran pulled one back after the break and struck a post as the Scottish champions improved, but Vangelis Pavlidis struck Benfica's fourth late on to kill any faint Celtic hopes. "Last thing