Scottish giants Celtic have been eliminated from the Europa Conference League after losing 5-1 on aggregate to Bodo/Glimt, including Thursday night's 2-0 defeat in the second leg.
Hopes of reaching the last 16 were already slim for Ange Postecoglou's men, who suffered a surprise 3-1 loss on home soil in the first leg last week, which ended their 17-game unbeaten run across all competitions.
In the second leg, held in Norway, Ola Solbakken opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a low-driven strike into the bottom left corner, which put Bodo/Glimdt three goals to the good on aggregate.
It could have been worse for Celtic, but Joe Hart made two brilliant saves from strikes by Amahl Pellegrino and Solbakken to prevent the hosts from adding a second before half time.
However, Bodo/Glimt were able to double their lead in the 69th minute when Hugo Vetlesen finished a well-worked move, side-footing his effort past Hart from 10 yards out.
Celtic, who were knocked out in the group stage of the Europa League earlier this campaign, have now failed to reach the last 16 in European competition in each of the last eight seasons.
The Hoops will now continue their battle with Glaswegian rival Rangers for the Premiership title, with Postecoglou's men currently sitting three points ahead of the Gers, and they will also look to clinch their fifth Scottish Cup in six years, though they must first overcome Dundee United in the quarter-finals next month. body check tags ::
