“We’re struggling a bit in this situation, but it was a difficult night,” Wilfried Nancy | OneFootball

Celtic Manager Wilfried Nancy has admitted Roma’s comfortable 3-0 Europa League victory at Celtic Park was a ‘difficult’ night for himself and the players…

Wilfried Nancy, Head Coach of Celtic, shouts instructions during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD6 match between Celtic FC and AS Roma at Celtic Park on December 11, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic’s troubled campaign hit another setback on Thursday night as they were soundly beaten 3–0 by Roma in their Europa League clash.

From the moment the match began, Nancy’s side showed signs of struggle particularly losing composure on the ball, defending nervously and displaying confusion in their positioning across the pitch.

Liam Scales of Celtic concedes an own goal, resulting in the first goal for AS Roma, during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD6 match between Celtic FC and AS Roma at Celtic Park on December 11, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Just six minutes into the game, Liam Scales inadvertently headed the ball into his own net from a Roma corner signalling the start of a long and difficult night for Celtic.

Roma dominated the Hoops throughout the entire first-half and Celtic-linked Evan Ferguson added two more goals to their tally. The Hoops’ frustration only grew when Arne Engels failed to convert a penalty on the stroke of half-time.

Speaking post-match, Nancy reflected on what was a sobering night for the Scottish champions. “It was difficult,” he said via TCW: “We started the game after five minutes. We scored an own goal on the corner. It was not easy.”

Wilfried Nancy, Head Coach of Celtic, speaks with the fourth official during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD6 match between Celtic FC and AS Roma at Celtic Park on December 11, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“They put in a lot of intensity, but we didn’t cope with the intensity. After that, we wanted to escape the pressure. When we did it, we didn’t play forward.”

“It was difficult. The second half was a bit better. We were able to get closer to each other, to escape the pressure. After that, we had a few actions that I liked. We got in the overlap, the underlap, to attack with pace a little bit more.”

“Yes, we missed the penalty. I think that one goal could have been better to change the dynamics. For the moment, we’re struggling a bit in this situation, but it was a difficult night.”

Celtic must dust themselves down ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports League Cup final in what already appears to be a must win game for the manager.

Conor Spence

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