10-man Celtic edged out by Inter

Ten-man Celtic were knocked out of the Europa League despite an impressive performance against Inter, who needed Fredy Guarin’s fantastic late strike at San Siro to give the Italian’s a 4-3 win on aggregate.

Celtic were the better side early on as Gary Mackay-Steven went through one-on-one with Juan Pablo Carrizo, only to have his shot well smothered by the goalkeeper.

Celtic’s hopes took a huge dent after 36 minutes when Dutch defender Virgil Van Dijk was sent off for a second bookable offence after pulling Mauro Icardi down.

Goalkeeper Craig Gordon had made two errors in the first leg, but made amends with three outstanding saves in Italy, twice from Icardi and once from Hernanes as a lethargic Inter struggled for a goal.

Celtic’s hopes were finally ended with three minutes remaining when Colombian international Guarin drove a wonderful shot into the top left-hand corner from 25 yards as Celtic tried to get the winning goal on 88 minutes that would have sent them through to the last 16.

6' – CHANCE: A great chance for Celtic followed by an attack from Inter! Mackay-Steven cuts past D'Ambrosio from the right flank and is one-on-one against Carrizo but the goalkeeper rushes out and smothers well. Inter then go down the other end but Palacio's curling strike is easy for for Gordon to hold.

26' – YELLOW CARD: Van Dijk gets the first booking of the game, meaning he will miss Celtic's next game in Europe, for tripping Palacio. That was slightly harsh as it looks like Van Dijk touched the ball.

36' – RED CARD: Virgil Van Dijk is off for a second booking and that may well be it for Celtic's hopes. Icardi gets away from the Dutchman down Inter's left-wing and Van Dijk pulls him back. A stupid thing to do when already on a yellow.

37' – WHAT A SAVE: The ball is whipped by Hernanes and Icardi meets it on the full, only for his header to be turned over the bar by Gordon with a magnificent reaction save. The Argentine striker is eventually called up for offside so it wouldn't have counted, but that was still a magnificent effort.

56' – CHANCE: Craig Gordon is keeping Celtic in this now as Icardi gets clear after a clever reverse pass from Guarin. The Scot stays big and blocks the Argentine's low shot.

67' - CHANCE: Very close to an opener for Inter as Palacio heads across the six-yard box to Shaqiri, who is off balance and can't nod home. Celtic are holding on...just.

87' - GOAL! Internazionale 1-0 Celtic. It's a magnificent strike from Guarin which kills the tie. Relief for Inter, who have been lethargic for most of the game, as the Colombian hits a strike from 25 yards out which explodes from his foot into the top-left corner. Gordon could get nowhere near that one.

This was Inter’s first ever win over Celtic in a European competition in normal time, after three draws and a defeat.

Celtic have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last nine visits to Italy.

Was Virgil Van Dijk’s first yellow card even a foul? The Dutchman’s sending-off was the decisive moment in the tie and, looking at replays, it seems like he won the ball in the incident that earned him his first booking. Ultimately, it was a very harsh decision that all but killed Celtic’s hopes. Very unfortunate for Celtic, who looked like they could have won the match until that point. Celtic needed luck afterwards, but got none.

Craig Gordon (Celtic): The goalkeeper made amends for his error in the first-leg with a string of outstanding saves which kept Celtic’s slim hopes alive until the last three minutes of the tie. His reactions to keep out Icardi’s first-half header, which would have been ruled out for offside in any case, were truly sensational.

Inter: Carrizo 7, D'Ambrosio 6, Ranocchia 6, Juan Jesus 6, Santon 7, Guarin 8, Medel 6, Hernanes 7, Shaqiri 7, Icardi 8, Palacio 7. Subs: Kovacic 6, Campagnaro 5, Puscas 6.

Celtic: Gordon 9, Matthews 8, Denayer 8, van Dijk 5, Izaguirre 8; Brown 8, Bitton 7; Mackay-Steven 7, Johansen 7, Armstrong 7; Guidetti 6. Subs: Ambrose 7, Commons 7, Forrest 6.