Cluj calamity, Old Firm agony and Sparta shame: The 10 defeats that led to Neil Lennon's downfall as Celtic boss

1

Date: Sunday, May 12, 2019.

Competition: Premiership.

Venue: Ibrox.

Result:  Rangers 2–0 Celtic.

The Premiership had been won by the time Celtic travelled across Glasgow to play Rangers in the final Old Firm game of the 2018/19 season.

But this result perhaps gave an early indication the balance of power in Scottish football was poised to change.

Steven Gerrard’s men were by far the better side from kick-off to the final whistle and triumphed thanks to an early James Tavernier striker and a second-half Scott Arfield effort. 

2

Date: Tuesday, August 13, 2019.

Competition: Champions League, third qualifying round.

Venue: Celtic Park.

Result: Celtic 3–4 Cluj (Cluj win 5-4 on aggregate).

Neil Lennon’s side were in the driving seat in their Champions League third qualifying round double header against Cluj or Romania after a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Transylvania.

But they were miles off it in the rematch in Glasgow and crashed to a humiliating and financially costly 4-3 home defeat.

Celtic led 2-1 and 3-2 in the second-half, but ended up conceding two soft goals in the last 10 minutes to crash out.

3

Date: Sunday, December 29, 2019.

Competition: Premiership.

Venue: Celtic Park.

Result: Celtic 1–2 Rangers.

Scott Brown and his team mates recovered from this loss – their first at the hands of their Glasgow adversaries at home since 2010 – and won their ninth consecutive Scottish title.

This game, though, was further evidence their dominance of the domestic scene was nearing an end and their opponents were on the ascendency.

Ryan Kent put the visitors in front in the first-half. Odsonne Edouard levelled with a controversial goal just before half-time. Nikola Katic bagged the winner when he lost Kristoffer Ajer at a second-half Borna Barisic corner.

4

Date: Thursday, February 27, 2020.

Competition: Europa League, last 32.

Venue: Celtic Park.

Result: Celtic 1–3 Copenhagen (Copenhagen win 4-2 on aggregate).

This was arguably even worse than the Champions League qualifying reverse at the hands of Cluj.

On Odsonne Edouard strike in Denmark had put the Scottish champions in the driving seat in this tie.

But the defensive deficiencies which cost them so dear in Europe’s premier club competition resurfaced in the rematch.

Odsonne Edouard levelled from the penalty spot after Michael Santos had put the visitors ahead only for Biel Mas and Dame N’Doye to score in the final five minutes. 

5

Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2021.

Competition: Champions League, second qualifying round.

Venue: Celtic Park.

Result: Celtic 1–2 Ferencvaros.

Celtic should, with the 2020/21 Champions League qualifiers being reduced to one-off matches due to the Covid-19 pandemic, taken advantage of the home draw they received against Ferencvaros of Hungary and gone through.

But when David Siger put the away side in front in the seventh minute it set alarm bells ringing. Ryan Christie got Neil Lennon’s men back on level terms in the second-half. But they never wholly convinced.

Tokmak Nguen put Ferencvaros 2-1 ahead with 15 minutes remaining and they held on to progress.

Afterwards, Lennon claimed that many of his players didn’t want to be at Parkhead and revealed it had been “bugging” him for some time. 

6

Date: Saturday, October 17, 2020.

Competition: Premiership.

Venue: Celtic Park.

Result: Celtic 0–2 Rangers.

Not having Ryan Christie, Odsonne Edouard, James Forrest and Christopher Jullien available due to coronavirus and injury, was obviously far from ideal for Celtic.

But Neil Lennon still had more than enough talent at his disposal to get a result and his side were dire. They failed to register a single shot on target during the course of the 90 minutes.

Connor Goldson put Rangers in front at a first-half James Tavernier corner and then netted from open play in the second-half to send the Ibrox club four points clear at the top of the Premiership.

7

Date: Thursday, November 5, 2020.

Competition: Europa League, group stages.

Venue: Celtic Park.

Result: Celtic 1–4 Sparta Prague.

Celtic suffered their third consecutive home defeat for the first time in 30 years with this mauling by their Czech opponents.

A Lukas Julis' hat-trick and a goal from Ladislav Krejci secured a deserved victory for the home side. Leigh Griffths netted for the home team. But it was a scant consolation.

8

Date: Sunday, November 29, 2020.

Competition: Betfred Cup, second round.

Venue: Celtic Park.

Result: Celtic 0–2 Ross County.

This humiliating loss for the Scottish champions to the bottom-placed side in the Premiership was too much for many of their supporters.

A large number of angry fans gathered outside Parkhead to call for Neil Lennon to be sacked afterwards. Players were pelted with missiles. Perimeter fences were ripped up and there were scuffles with police.

Ross Stewart had put the Highlanders in front when he converted a penalty six minutes before half-time and Alex Iacovitti wrapped up a famous when he added another six minutes from time.

Strangely, the ugly scenes outside the stadium probably bought Lennon time; directors didn’t want to be seen to be bowing to the yobs. 

9

Date: Saturday, January2, 2021.

Competition: Premiership.

Venue: Ibrox.

Result: Rangers 1–0 Celtic.

When it’s not going your way, it’s not going your way. The Celtic board had incensed supporters by giving Lennon a stay of execution. But his men responded by going on a six game winning run. And they were by far the better side in the Old Firm.

Only two outstanding saves by Allan McGregor in the first-half prevented them from forging in front. The veteran keeper denied Odsonne Edouard and then Legh Griffiths.

Steven Gerrard’s men took the lead after Nir Bitton had been red carded for a rugby tackle on Alfredo Morelos. Callum McGregor turned a corner into his own net.

That own goal was all that separated the age-old rivals at the end of the 90 minutes. The loss effectively ended Celtic’s faint hopes of completing 10-In-A-Row. 

10

Date: Sunday, February 21.

Competition: Premiership.

Venue: Global Energy Stadium.

Result: Ross County 1–0 Celtic.

When Neil Lennon remained in his position following the 2-1 home defeat to St Mirren at Parkhead last month – the first home loss the Glasgow club had suffered at the hands of their Paisley rivals in 31 years - it was felt that he would remain manager until the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

Then came their second reverse of the season to Ross County in Dingwall on Sunday. A second-half Jordan White header at a Harry Paton free-kick clinched a vital win for John Hughes’s struggling team.

It was clearly the final straw for the Parkhead board.