Besiktas manager Vincenzo Italiano has accused his players of handing Celtic the points in the Europa League, while midfielder Junior Olaitan insisted his side dominated the game despite losing 3-2 at Parkhead.
Celtic secured their first win in the league phase of the Europa League with a thrilling victory over the Turkish side. Besiktas took the lead when Olaitan followed up on the rebound of his saved penalty and thought they had at least snatched a point when Orkun Kokcu equalised after Celtic had turned the game on its head. But they left empty-handed thanks to Camilo Duran's winner barely a minute later.
Italiano blasts his players
Italiano let rip at his players, who he felt handed the win to Celtic on a plate. He said: "It was truly a bitter night; I’m really very sad, and I feel disappointed. I think we threw away some very important points. We need to be more careful, just like we used to be. We’re giving up too many chances and making mistakes. We played really well; we just needed to be more careful because we really threw away those three points."
"I don’t want to point fingers; I don’t want to blame anyone. At first, we were tougher, more careful, and we sensed the dangers well in advance. Of course, you’re going to give up chances, but you don’t just hand them away that easily! The players performed well, but we conceded three goals and threw away the points because of those three goals. That’s why I’m very angry."
Olaitan stunned by defeat
Benin international Olaitan opened the scoring in Glasgow, but the midfielder was left stunned by Celtic's fightback to win 3-2. He admitted he could not believe they lost at Parkhead.
He said: "It was a bad defeat because we dominated the game until we made passing errors and gave the ball away to our opponents. We started the game well and scored, but after that we lost our rhythm. Celtic took advantage of this and took their chances. It's a pity because we were playing well. It's important we recover from this painful defeat."
"I am sorry for our supporters that we lost this and it's clear we need to work harder for the full 90 minutes, rather than just parts of the match."
Torreense await Celtic
Elsewhere, new Torreense boss Joao Nuno admitted he cannot wait to face Celtic next after the Portuguese minnows gave him the perfect start to his new job. Celtic's next game in the Europa League will be in Leiria, 50 miles away from Torreense's home of Torres Vedras, because their 2,000-capacity stadium is not suitable.
The tiny side are 12th out of 18 sides in the second tier in Portugal and axed their manager Luis Tralhao, despite him guiding the side to history last season when they stunned Sporting Lisbon to win their national Cup for the first time. They have punched above their weight in the Europa League and are currently on course to qualify for the play-offs, as they sit in 19th place in the group, compared to Celtic's 32nd spot.
They secured an incredible 3-2 win this week against Ararat Armenia with two injury time goals despite having to play for more than an hour with ten men. They welcome the Hoops next and Nuno is determined to continue to make Portugal proud.
He said: "That was an unforgettable night for everyone at Torreense, for the people at the club. Given how the season has gone, it was an important win for the fans. Everyone identified with what we are trying to do. It was an absolutely epic victory and I could not ask for a better debut as a manager."
"Celtic are next here, so we will fight to do everything to try to get points and try to win the game. Let's continue our dream because we have done beautiful things in Europe this season. We want to continue fighting to dignify Portuguese football and I think today we lived up to its standards and the Portuguese people can be proud of us."
