Celtic 0-3 Roma: Losing start continues for Nancy in Europa League humbling
Wilfried Nancy failed to get his first win as Celtic boss after the Scottish side were thrashed 3-0 by Roma in the Europa League.
Celtic continued their losing start under Wilfried Nancy after they fell to a humbling 3-0 defeat at the hands of Roma in the Europa League.
An own goal from Liam Scales after six minutes set the tone for the Scottish Premiership side, with Evan Ferguson also scoring a brace as Roma wrapped up an emphatic win before the half-time whistle at Celtic Park.
Roma took the lead from a set-piece as Matias Soule's corner was attacked by Gianluca Mancini, but Scales inadvertently headed the cross into his own net when looking to challenge the Italian defender.
Ferguson, who had only scored once for Roma prior to this match, looked like he was heading for another frustrating game in front of goal when he hit the woodwork with a powerful strike, but the Brighton loanee burst into life after that miss.
The 21-year-old slotted home with a first-time finish from Zeki Celik's cross from the right before showing great strength and composure to control a pass from Soule and find the far corner to make it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time.
However, Celtic had a golden opportunity to pull a goal back before the break when Mario Hermoso fouled Arne Engels in the box, but the Belgian's spot-kick was tipped onto the post by Mile Svilar to add to their misery.
Both Kelechi Iheanacho and Leon Bailey saw goals disallowed by VAR for offside in the second half, while the latter also saw a great chance smothered by Kasper Schmeichel as Celtic fell to their second loss under Nancy.
Data Debrief: More Scottish joy for Roma
It was a fairly comfortable European outing for Roma, who produced 1.52 expected goals (xG) from 12 shots to Celtic's 1.33 from nine attempts, though the hosts' xG was boosted by their penalty.
Following their win over Rangers on November 6, Roma are just the second side to win games against both Celtic and Rangers in a single major European campaign after Barcelona in the 2007-08 Champions League.
Meanwhile, after defeats against Hearts and Roma, Nancy has become the first manager in Celtic’s history to lose each of his first two games in charge of the club.
