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Celtic’s miserable Europa League campaign will resume against Beşiktaş on the 5th of November.
The Turkish side drew 2-2 with Crystal Palace in Istanbul on Thursday night, giving Martin O’Neill a closer look at the team they will face next in the competition.
Besiktas are unbeaten in the Europa League as Celtic embarrassingly search for their first point, but in their draw with Palace, here is what the Hoops boss has learned which could help topple the fifth- placed Turkish Super Lig side.
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Wilfred Ndidi gave Beşiktaş the lead in first-half stoppage time after Jean-Philippe Mateta had an early goal ruled out for offside.
Palace came out after the break and scored twice in four minutes. Junior Olaitan rescued a point for Beşiktaş in the 73rd minute, but the match statistics suggest Palace had opportunities to take more from the game.
Beşiktaş had 59% possession but managed only five shots. Palace had eight attempts and recorded 24 touches inside the opposition penalty area, compared to just ten for the home side.
The Turkish club have now conceded five goals in three Europa League matches without keeping a clean sheet.
Beşiktaş have scored nine goals in their opening three European games. They thrashed Marseille 4-1, beat Hoffenheim 3-2 and scored with both their shots on target against Palace.
Celtic have conceded nine goals in the same number of matches, losing all three. The Hoops suffered another defeat against Celta Vigo on Thursday, with Martin O’Neill’s substitutions coming under criticism after the 2-1 loss.
Palace managed to limit Beşiktaş to just five attempts, but still conceded twice. Celtic have struggled to keep opponents out in Europe and will be facing a team who have made good use of their chances so far.
Beşiktaş defender Ümit Akdağ was shown a straight red card in the 77th minute for a challenge on Jørgen Strand Larsen.
Under UEFA’s Europa League regulations, players sent off normally receive an automatic one-match suspension.
Akdağ is set to miss the Celtic Park game unless his dismissal is overturned on appeal.
Beşiktaş have conceded in every Europa League game so far, and Celtic have to start punishing teams for those defensive mistakes.
Three defeats from three is bad enough, but a fourth at Celtic Park would leave O’Neill facing an embarrassing Europa League exit halfway through the competition.