Celtic crash out of Champions League after losing to AEK Athens

Their underwhelming start to the season just got worse

Celtic will not be playing in the Champions League group stages this season after losing to AEK Athens 2-1 tonight. The Scottish champions have qualified for the Champions League for both of Brendan Rodgers' previous seasons at Celtic Park, but this year they could not overcome AEK Athens in the third qualifying round, as they lost 3-2 on aggregate. After drawing the first leg 1-1 in Glasgow, it was all to play for in the Greek capital tonight, but they did not step up to the plate. Celtic did not bring their A game. 2-0 down after 50 minutes, a miracle was needed for them to progress. Scott Sinclair and Mousa Dembélé were brought off the bench as Rodgers threw the kitchen sink at their Greek opponents, but failed to break any plates. Sinclair pulled one back in the 78th minute, inspiring hope among Celtic fans, but it proved to be merely a consolation goal as the Bhoys ran out of time.