By KEVIN MCKENNA AT CELTIC PARK

Published: 23:30, 19 February 2026 | Updated: 23:30, 19 February 2026

Celtic boss Martin O’Neill admitted his side were ‘masters of their own downfall’ in their sobering 4-1 Europa League play-off round first-leg defeat to Stuttgart.

Bilal El Khannouss netted either side of a Benjamin Nygren strike in the first half to put the visitors in command, with Jamie Leweling and substitute Tiago Tomas adding gloss to the scoreline late on.

It leaves O’Neill’s men with a mountain to climb in Germany next Thursday, and the 73-year-old — who marked his 1,000th game in the dugout last night — was under no illusions regarding the task at hand.

‘It’s a tough evening for us,’ he told TNT Sports. ‘On paper, 4-1 looks pretty poor but we were masters of our own downfall in many aspects.

‘We conceded poor goals. At 1-1 we were well in the game, even at 2-1.

‘It’s a tough ask (to get through the tie). You’re travelling over to a side who are fourth in the Bundesliga and are very capable of...