Celtic out of Europa League despite win at Stuttgart

Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirovic and Celtic’s Auston Trusty in action during their Europa League match in Stuttgart, Feb. 26, 2026. (AP)
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Updated 26 February 2026
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Celtic out of Europa League despite win at Stuttgart

  • Luke McCowan found the net inside the opening minute
  • Stuttgart advance to the last 16 and will find out in Friday’s draw whether they face Porto or Braga

PARIS: Celtic bowed out of the Europa League on Thursday after losing 4-2 on aggregate to Stuttgart despite a 1-0 away win in the second leg of their knockout phase play-off tie.
After last week’s 4-1 defeat in Glasgow left Martin O’Neill’s side facing a three-goal deficit, they made the ideal start to the second leg, with Luke McCowan finding the net inside the opening minute.
But Celtic could make no further inroads and their exit left the Scottish champions still seeking a first European knockout tie victory since 2004, with their domestic supremacy also under threat this season from Hearts.
Stuttgart advance to the last 16 and will find out in Friday’s draw whether they face Porto or Braga in the next round.
Nottingham Forest will look to join Aston Villa in the last 16 later on Thursday, taking a 3-0 lead into the second leg of their tie against Fenerbahce at the City Ground.


Liverpool thrash West Ham but Salah’s Premier League goal drought up to 10 games

Updated 28 February 2026
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Liverpool thrash West Ham but Salah’s Premier League goal drought up to 10 games

  • Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo all scored for Liverpool
  • Salah’s last league goal for Liverpool was way back on Nov. 1 against Aston Villa

LONDON: Mohamed Salah’s run of Premier League games without scoring is up to 10.
Fortunately for the Egypt star, his Liverpool teammates had no problem finding the net in a 5-2 thrashing of West Ham on Saturday that continued the defending champion’s midseason recovery.
Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk, Alexis Mac Allister and Cody Gakpo all scored for Liverpool, which also forced an own-goal as the team racked up more than four goals in a league game for the first time this season.
Liverpool have won four games in a row in all competitions and six in their last seven — the only blip being the home loss to Manchester City. Arne Slot’s side moved level on points with fourth-placed Manchester United, which play on Sunday at home to Crystal Palace.
Salah’s last league goal for Liverpool was way back on Nov. 1 against Aston Villa. It’s his longest scoring drought in the competition since joining from Roma in 2017.
On a high-scoring day in the Premier League, Brentford gave up a three-goal lead before grabbing a stoppage-time winner through Mikkel Damsgaard to beat next-to-last Burnley 4-3 — though there was late drama as Ashley Barnes thought he equalized in the final seconds only for his goal to be ruled out by VAR.
Everton won at Newcastle 3-2 and Bournemouth’s unbeaten run stretched to eight games by fighting back to draw with Sunderland 1-1.