Wilfried Nancy’s Celtic tenure got off to a rocky start in Europe, with the manager now seeing his side suffer two home defeats from as many UEFA Europa League matches after a 3-0 loss to Roma. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side recorded their third away win in the League Phase, leaving Celtic struggling.

The nightmare began early. Just six minutes in, Liam Scales inadvertently turned Matias Soule’s corner into an own goal, heading the ball off the crossbar and giving Roma the lead. Off-target attempts from Stephan El Shaarawy and Zeki Celik failed to punish Celtic further immediately, but the hosts continued to falter defensively. A poor clearance deep in their own half allowed Evan Ferguson to fire a shot against the post.

Kasper Schmeichel made a crucial save from Soule to keep the deficit at one, but Roma’s pressure eventually told. Nine minutes before half-time, Celik’s cross found Ferguson, who turned home his first Europa League goal to make it 2-0.

Celtic finally showed some attacking spark after falling two goals behind. Reo Hatate was played through on goal but mishit his chance over the bar—a miss that was swiftly punished in stoppage time when Soule set up Ferguson, who powered his second past Schmeichel.

Celtic briefly looked for a lifeline when Mario Hermoso fouled Arne Engels in the box, but Engels’ penalty struck the post and bounced out, deepening the hosts’ woes.

Nancy made several changes at the break, introducing Kelechi Iheanacho among others, but the Nigerian forward squandered a golden opportunity eight minutes into the second half, missing from close range with Mile Slivar in goal. Celtic continued to press and believed they had a goal after Iheanacho prodded home Engels’ cross just past the hour mark—but VAR ruled it out for offside.

Roma, too, were denied by VAR when substitute Leon Bailey scored five minutes after coming on, while Schmeichel later blocked another Bailey effort. Despite Celtic’s late pressure, Roma’s three-goal advantage remained intact, bringing them within a point of the top eight in the league phase.

The defeat leaves Celtic in a precarious position, clinging to the 24th and final qualifying spot after a second home loss in the Europa League.