After Brendan Rodgers called for peace and harmony, and furious fan groups agreed to shelve protests against the board, this tame Europa League defeat to Braga felt like everything went back to square one.
True, Celtic’s cause was not helped by a horrendous VAR decision given against Kelechi Iheanacho early in the second half when they were 1-0 down.
When the Nigerian striker looked like he had rifled a good finish low into the bottom corner to equalise, a lengthy stoppage saw the goal ruled out for a handball that very few people bar the officials could spot.
It was harsh. Undoubtedly so. But that incident alone should not be allowed to mask what was another insipid display from Rodgers’ side as they drew a blank and failed to score for a fifth time already this season.
The game ended with punters in the stands once again shouting ‘sack the board’. There was no sign of peace in Paradise, only trouble, boos, and more strained relations.
The reaction in the stands was not the only time the attention turned to Celtic fans. Prior to kick-off, the Green Brigade displayed a deeply ill-advised banner on UEFA. More on that shortly.
Celtic couldn’t find the harmony they sought as they went down 2-0 at home to Braga
Brendan Rodgers was left baffled by the decision to disallow Kelechi Iheanacho’s goal
Iheanacho was penalised for handball even though the ball appeared to strike his head
But for Rodgers and his Celtic players, this was a major setback in their attempts to mount a decent run in the Europa League.
For all they can point to the VAR shambles, Celtic’s performance patently wasn’t up to scratch. And for all the talk of transfer failings in the summer, Rodgers must shoulder some responsibility here.
At the moment, he is not getting the best out of a squad that still has some talented, international footballers. He looks drained of energy and devoid of ideas.
There were plans for Celtic supporters to hold a 29-minute silence as part of wider protests against the club’s board, but it was called off after senior club officials agreed to meet with fan representatives earlier next week.
But there was still a strangely subdued atmosphere inside the stadium, with many people having to scramble away from work in order to make it in time for the 5.45pm kick-off.
Normally a staple of these European nights at Celtic Park, there was no pre-match rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Instead, the main talking point prior to kick-off was on a banner held up in the corner of the stadium which houses the Green Brigade.
Surrounded by Palestine flags, it read: ‘UEFA is complicit in genocide by normalising Israel, kick them out now.’
UEFA are likely to hammer Celtic after their fans displayed a banner about Israel
The Celtic board had hoped for a victory to easy tensions but it was another difficult night
The banner is likely to land Celtic in hot water and, most probably, cost them a hefty fine. UEFA take a dim view of any political banners, let alone one which accuses them of genocide.
Back to matters on the pitch and there was a rare start for Paulo Bernardo in the Celtic midfield, with Kieran Tierney also brought back into the team from the 0-0 draw with Hibs last weekend.
Scorer of a Champions League winner against Feyenoord here a couple of years ago, Gustaf Lagerbielke lined up in the heart of defence for a Braga side who sit seventh in the Portuguese top flight.
Braga actually beat Feyenoord 1-0 last week to start their Europa League campaign with three points, whilst Celtic opened their account with a 1-1 draw away at Red Star Belgrade.
Sebastian Tounekti looked lively down the left for Celtic and flashed a good ball across the face of goal on 10 minutes but it found no takers.
A lovely first-time lay-off from Iheanacho then allowed Bernardo to release Tounekti into space but his shot was saved easily enough by Braga keeper Lukas Hornicek.
But Braga grew into the game and were popping the ball around nicely in midfield. They took the lead on 21 minutes, albeit the goal owed largely to really poor goalkeeping from Kasper Schmeichel.
Ricardo Horta was fully 30 yards out when he started lining up to have a strike. The shot had plenty of dip and swerve, but not enough that it should have beaten Schmeichel from so far out.
Kasper Schmeichel was a fault for the first goal as he failed to keep out a long-range effort
Braga’s Ricardo Horta celebrates scoring his side’s first goal at a subdued Parkhead
The Celtic keeper almost looked surprised by it all, not expecting Horta to have a go from such a distance, but the ball flew beyond him and into the net.
It summed up what was turning into an awful night for Schmeichel. His distribution was slack and continually put Celtic in trouble, something which Braga preyed on.
After Rodgers calling for harmony and for a line to be drawn under all the acrimony in recent weeks, the boos rang out at the end of what had been a dismal 45 minutes for the home side.
The manager changed it at half-time and went to a back three of Tierney, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales.
In what was a total reshuffle, Marcelo Saraachi came on to replace young right-back Colby Donovan, with Daizen Maeda utilised as a right wing-back and Saracchi deployed on the left.
The change did give Celtic some kind of spark, with Saracchi offering more energy and attacking thrust down the left than Tierney had done.
It looked like they had equalised on 51 minutes when Iheanacho pounced on a loose pass, nicked the ball away from a couple of defenders, then drilled a good finish low into the bottom corner.
Yet, after a very lengthy VAR check, the goal was ruled out for an alleged handball by Iheanacho in the build-up. To say it was a harsh decision would be an understatement.
The ball bounced up and seemed to hit Iheanacho in the face, rather than his arm or hand, but the controversy brought a renewed sense of energy to the stadium.
Suddenly, nursing a sense of injustice, the fans were engaged and the noise grew louder. Reo Hatate and Arne Engels were brought on to try and add some freshness and creativity to midfield.
A reminder of Braga’s class came on 64 minutes when they brought Joao Moutinho off the bench, the 39-year-old veteran midfielder who won 146 caps for the Portuguese national side.
Tounekti was then denied an equaliser when he weaved his way inside from the left and curled an effort towards the far corner, only for Hornicek to paw it away.
Tierney once again failed to complete the 90 minutes, with Dane Murray coming on to replace the Scotland defender with 10 minutes remaining.
Braga wrapped up the three points on 85 minutes when Gabri Martinez blocked a Murray clearance into the net from close range, after Liam Scales and Schmeichel had done their best to block and repel the danger.
Cue wild celebrations as the Braga bench emptied and ran down the touchline in a manner not a million miles off their countryman Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford all those years ago.
As for Rodgers and Celtic, this was a performance which laid bare their shortcomings. For all they made a mess of the transfer window in the summer, the manager is not getting the best out of those under his command.
It is perhaps just as well they never qualified for the Champions League. On this evidence, Celtic would have been little more than cannon-fodder.
