Celtic Win Two Goals in 84 Seconds, Bournemouth Go Second and Milan Lose to Ferencvaros in the Europa League
Substitutes won it for Celtic and Bournemouth on matchday four, Sunderland's unbeaten start ended in Zagreb's 2-0 win, and Crystal Palace needed a late Kamada goal to draw with Hoffenheim.
Thursday, November 5, 2026/2 min read
Celtic Park, Thursday night, and a European season that looked finished was suddenly alive. Celtic had lost their first three Europa League matches and trailed Besiktas when Martin O'Neill reached for his bench; within minutes the match had turned, and by the end Celtic had won 3-2, ESPN reported, with two substitutes supplying the goals.
It was one of several matchday-four results that reshaped the league phase.
How did Celtic come back to beat Besiktas?
Junior Olaitan put the Turkish side ahead from the rebound of a penalty in a quiet first half. O'Neill then introduced Callum Osmand and Camilo Duran. Osmand equalised less than a minute after coming on, Duran made it 2-1, Orkun Kokcu levelled for Besiktas, and Duran scored again just 84 seconds later to settle it. It was Celtic's first win of the competition after defeats by Ferencvaros, Benfica and Celta Vigo.
Who else won on Thursday?
Bournemouth, in their first European campaign, won 3-1 at Sparta Prague after trailing, with substitutes Tyler Adams, Evanilson and Rayan scoring in the second half, according to UEFA's round-up. Sparta's Tobias Guddal had been sent off before half-time. Ferencvaros beat Milan 2-0 at the San Siro through two goals from Lenny Joseph to make it four wins from four, and Benfica beat Lech Poznan 3-1.
Juventus won 2-1 at AZ Alkmaar, with Teun Koopmeiners scoring against his former club, and Marseille won 1-0 at Bayer Leverkusen. Crystal Palace drew 1-1 with Hoffenheim at Selhurst Park, UEFA said, Daichi Kamada's last-gasp equaliser saving a point for a ten-man side.
Who leads the Europa League table after matchday four?
Benfica, unbeaten after their win over Lech, lead the league phase, with Bournemouth also unbeaten and Ferencvaros perfect. Milan, by contrast, have three points from four matches, and goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani made five saves in a home defeat that was settled by Joseph's two goals, even though Ferencvaros's Bamidele Yusuf was sent off late on.
The night's other casualty was Sunderland, whose unbeaten European start ended with a 2-0 home defeat by GNK Dinamo, Luka Stojkovic and Dion Beljo scoring. Beljo and Bryan Linssen now share the competition's scoring lead on four goals each, UEFA noted.
What next for Celtic and the chasing pack?
For Celtic the win is a lifeline rather than a rescue. They had lost all three earlier league-phase matches, and ESPN noted that a side that lost 2-0 to Falkirk and drew 2-2 with Dundee United domestically, while staying top of the Scottish Premiership, will need more of the same bench-led energy. The league phase resumes later this month, with every remaining match now carrying weight for the top-eight places that skip the play-off round.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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