Ciro Immobile scores 2 late goals and Lazio beats Celtic 2-0 to advance in Champions League
ROME (AP) — Ciro Immobile came off the bench and scored twice in the final 10 minutes and Lazio beat Celtic 2-0 on Tuesday to secure advancement in the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid beat Feyenoord 3-1 later to send the Roman club through to the last 16, while Celtic was assured of finishing last in Group E.
Atletico leads with 11 points, followed by Lazio (10), Feyenoord (6) and Celtic (1).
In the final group matches on Dec. 13, Lazio visits Atletico in a match that will determine which club wins the group.
Gustav Isaksen set up both goals, first with a deflected shot that wound its way toward Immobile, who pounded it into the net from close range in the 82nd.
Three minutes later, Isaksen floated in a ball over the top and Immobile sprinted past one defender and spun around another before slotting in. Immobile had come on as a substitute in the 61st.
“Immobile is incredible, he keeps scoring goals and helping us,” Isaksen said of the 33-year-old Lazio captain. “His finishing is top, top class.”
It was a welcome win for Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri, who said after a loss at last-place Salernitana in Serie A on Saturday that he needed to reflect over whether he was responsible for the club’s three-match winless streak in the Italian league.
Celtic had a penalty kick waved off following a video review in stoppage time.
“We do fight but we’re not a 100-minute fighting team in the Champions League,” Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart said. “When the tiredness kicks in that’s when we need to go again.”
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