Lennon pleased despite Celtic loss

Celtic manager Neil Lennon had no problem with his side's performance or the goal they conceded in their 1-0 Europa League defeat by Atletico Madrid.

Celtic made a promising start in their penultimate Group I fixture with Thibaut Courtois making an excellent close-range block from Georgios Samaras, but they fell behind in the 29th minute.

Stand-in captain Beram Kayal appeared to duck under Arda Turan's powerful long-range strike just in front of Fraser Forster and the goalkeeper could only help the ball into the net with his outstretched arm.

Lennon told ESPN: "I'm very pleased with the team, I thought we deserved a lot more out of the game than what we got.

"I'm delighted with the performance, just little things we can tidy up on.

"Their goalkeeper kept them in it in the first half, he made two or three world-class saves.

"We got done by a very good strike. We defended the corner well and the guy has come on and hit it. I don't think Fraser has seen it until late so I can't be too critical.

"Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say 'Good goal'.

"A lot of our play was very, very good. I thought Kayal and Samaras were exceptional."

Centre-back Daniel Majstorovic, who headed the ball outside the box from a corner immediately before the goal, had a different opinion on the crucial strike.

The Swede said: "It was a really poor goal. I don't know if Fraser saw the ball because the shot came from far away.

"It was a pity to concede that kind of goal. We played really well and conceded the goal at a bad time but we came back and showed real quality and character and I think we deserved more."

Substitute Gary Hooper had a goal disallowed after Anthony Stokes helped Charlie Mulgrew's header on with his arm, but Celtic retain hope of making the knockout stages after Udinese were held to a 0-0 draw in Rennes.

With Udinese three points ahead, Celtic will qualify in second place on the head-to-head record if they win in Italy on December 15.

Lennon said: "We're still in there with a fighting chance. It just means we have to go and win, which is a tall order obviously, but we are improving all the time and I can't ask for any more of the players than that performance."