OPINION
Zenit St Petersburg sent Celtic crashing out of the Europa League on Thursday as they defeated the Hoops 3-0 in Russia, to win the tie 3-1 on aggregate.
Callum McGregor had given the Bhoys’ a narrow 1-0 lead to try and protect ahead of the second leg on Thursday, but Brendan Rodgers’ side quickly lost their advantage in the tie.
Branislav Ivanovic gave Zenit the lead in the eighth minute of the game, as he headed home the ball from a corner, which made the score 1-1 on aggregate.
The Russian giants then quickly took the lead in the fixture as Daler Kuzyaev scored from 25-yards-out in the 27th minute, and Zenit didn’t look back after that.
Aleksandr Kokorin made Celtic’s exit from the Europa League this season certain, as he scored in the 61st minute to make the score 3-0 in Zenit’s favour.
With the Hoops now out of the Europa League, they will go back to focusing on wrapping up their 10th league title in a row.
Celtic currently sit nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premier League ahead of playing Aberdeen on Sunday.
This is Futbol have picked out three things we learned about Celtic after their defeat against Zenit St Petersburg, including what Brendan Rodgers got wrong in the game.
Click below to reveal which Celtic star has become a liability