Besiktas dropped two points in a 2-2 draw away to Kasimpasa on Sunday, a result that has set the tone for their Europa League meeting with Celtic on Thursday.
The Istanbul side led 2-0 at half-time through goals from Leandro Trossard and Dusan Vlahovic, but Kasimpasa fought back in the second half with strikes from Claudio Winck and Marcus Rafferty to claim a share of the spoils at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium.
Winck hits out at 'arrogant' Besiktas
After the match, Brazilian defender Winck aimed a dig at the visitors, saying: "Some of Besiktas' players think they are bigger than they are. Some of them see themselves as superstars. They were very arrogant on the pitch."
Besiktas have made a strong start in Europe, collecting seven points from their first three Europa League matches, including a 4-1 home win over Marseille. However, Vincenzo Italiano's side have lost two of their last five games in the Turkish top tier, leaving them six points behind leaders Galatasaray after 10 matches.
Italiano admits loss of control
Speaking after the draw, Italiano said: "Unfortunately, we gave the match away from a 2-0 lead. I think our intensity and quality decreased a bit later on. We had 4-5 very good chances for the third goal. But unfortunately, there was a lack of concentration, and our rhythm dropped."
He added: "The team lost control there and we conceded 2 goals. I congratulate them, they scored 2 beautiful goals. We had the match 2-0 in our hands, but we gave it away. We need to correct this. We need to improve our away performances and results. We had the match, but we gave it away from 2-0. We need to solve these issues in our upcoming away games."
Celtic's own struggles
Celtic head into Thursday's match at Parkhead after a 2-0 away loss to Falkirk on Sunday, a result that has increased pressure on Martin O'Neill from sections of the fanbase.
The Hoops sit second from bottom of the Europa League having lost all three of their games so far, and face a difficult task to secure a play-off spot in their five remaining fixtures.
