Celtic were denied their first Champions League point of the campaign by a dramatic late Lazio winner, with the 2-1 defeat leaving Brendan Rodgers side bottom of Group E after 2 games.
Decorated forward Pedro came off the bench to sink Celtic in the 95th minute after the Scottish side had seen their early lead evaporate before the first half was out.
The hosts took the lead after Kyogo netted with just 12 minutes on the clock, sending the home fans delirious. Daizen Maeda cut in well from the right hand side, before finding Matt O’Riley whose perfectly weighted ball allowed the Hoops front man to latch on and rifle home his first Champions League goal.
Celtic’s lead was wiped out just before the half hour mark though as Matias Vecino headed home from close range. Brendan Rodgers’ side failed deal with a dangerous corner, with the ball breaking to the Uruguayan who forced his effort past Joe Hart.
Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel, fresh from his goalscoring feat on Matchday 1, was called into action just before the hour mark when he palmed away Reo Hatate’s driven free kick. The rebound fell straight into the path of Alistair Johnston but the Canadian’s effort was well over the bar.
Celtic Park erupted on 80 minutes when it looked as though substitute Luis Palma had given the home side the lead.
The Honduran winger struck a low shot beyond Provedel at his near post, however his joy was short lived as VAR adjudged that he was offside in the build up and the score remained locked at 1-1.
There was to be another twist in the tale as veteran forward Pedro came off the bench to score a late winner for Maurizio Sarri’s side. The Spaniard found himself in space in the box and nodded beyond Joe Hart with seconds left of the game.
The result leaves Celtic rooted to the foot of Group E with a double header against Atletico Madrid looming.
