GLASGOW (Reuters) – An own goal five minutes from time gave Celtic a 1-0 victory over Young Boys Berne in the Champions League on Wednesday and took the Scottish side past the competition’s group stage for the first time in 12 years.
The ball rebounded into the net off the shin of Young Boys captain Loris Benito after Celtic substitute Adam Idah had an effort save by goalkeeper Marvin Keller, ending a frustrating night for the Scottish side who missed a penalty and had two efforts ruled out for offside.
They are now guaranteed a place in the knockout round playoffs.
Celtic looked headed for a draw that would have severely dented their hopes but their fortunes turned dramatically to the delight of the Celtic Park crowd.
They had endured a frustrating evening after Keller saved Arne Engels’ 41st-minute penalty and Kyogo Furuhashi twice had the ball in the net before being ruled offside.
Furuhashi also tucked away the ball after a breakaway in the 31st minute only for a VAR check to find Celtic captain Callum McGregor had won possession illegally with a foul on Cheikh Niasse in the build-up.
Young Boys remained without any points after seven matches in the new-look expanded group phase and were already eliminated before Wednesday’s game.
But they came close to a share of the spoils as Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel made two superb stops to deny Darian Males and Mohamed Ali Camara with the last chance of the match.
Celtic had Daizen Maeda sent off in the 89th minute for a frustrated kick out at an opponent.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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