Benfica boss admitted his side were ‘wobbling’ against Celtic, claims Martin O’Neill
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has revealed that Benfica boss Marco Silva admitted his side were ‘wobbling’ during last week’s 4-1 Europa League victory in Lisbon.
The Hoops endured a difficult evening in Portugal, although O’Neill believes the final scoreline failed to reflect the opportunities his side created during the second half.
Celtic assistant manager Shaun Maloney, who previously worked under Silva at Hull City, spoke with the Benfica boss after the match and received an interesting admission about his team’s performance.
Speaking to CelticPlayer ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash against Celta Vigo, O’Neill said: “In the second half against Benfica, I thought we could win the game. We conceded the early penalty and then two more. Half-time couldn’t come quickly enough.
“But we got back into it and played really strongly. I accept the fact that on the break they could also have scored some goals themselves, but had our chance that hit the post gone in to make it 3-2, then it would have been all to play for in the last 15 minutes.
“It’s interesting because Shaun Maloney was speaking to their manager after the game – the two of them know each other from their Hull City days – and he was saying that Benfica were wobbling at 3-1.
“That might tell you something. So listening to all that also gives you some confidence that if you could strike early against Hearts to settle everyone down then things could go on from there.
“As it turned out, it was really terrific. We took a big, big lift in terms of confidence and scoring goals – everything about it was really terrific.
“Considering it was seven goals against big rivals, it augurs well. Had we been beaten by Hearts then this would maybe be a game we could be doing without.”
Celtic responded to their European disappointment with an emphatic 7-1 victory over Hearts on Sunday, providing a significant confidence boost ahead of their return to continental action.
However, having lost their opening two Europa League fixtures, O’Neill acknowledges the importance of securing a positive result against Celta Vigo.
He continued: “For us, we want to try and get back on track again. We desperately want to qualify again for the knock-out stages of the competition which we did last year.
“We’ve got off to a poor start in terms of results, but this is a chance to put it right on Thursday night against a side that can consider themselves very unlucky in a couple of their own games.
“They have conceded late goals, specifically to Juventus, so they’ll be looking for three points themselves. So hopefully it should make for an open game.”
