Celtic stung by late penalty

Almen Abdi's late penalty salvaged a 1-1 draw for under-strength Udinese in their enthralling Europa League Group I clash with Celtic at Parkhead.

The Hoops got off to a perfect start when midfielder Ki Sung-Yueng scored from the spot in the third minute after striker Gary Hooper had been fouled by Joel Ekstrand.

But in the 86th minute Hooper, back defending, gave away a penalty when he clipped Piccoli Neuton in the box and Abdi sent Lukasz Zaluska the wrong way from the spot.

It was hard luck for Celtic who have one point from two games following their 2-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in Spain earlier in the month.

Lennon sprung some more surprises with his team selection as keeper Fraser Forster was surprisingly replaced by Lukasz Zaluska, while stopper Glenn Loovens and striker Anthony Stokes were also dropped, while there was even less familiarity about the Serie A side's line-up, who were without veteran star Antonio Di Natale.

And it was the Hoops who took the early lead after when Hooper was clumsily pulled down by Ekstrand. Referee Bulent Yildirim did not point to the spot at first but after appearing to wait for some guidance from his linesman he eventually confirmed what had looked obvious.

Spot-kicks had been an Achilles heel of Celtic recently but after some delay Ki confidently slammed the penalty high past Samir Handanovic.

In the 62nd minute Victor Wanyama fouled Diego Fabbrini 30 yards from goal and from Cristian Battocchio's chipped free-kick, Abdi had a shot which ended at the feet of substitute Mehdi Benatia who slipped the ball in to the net from close range. However, after another delay and some confusion as to why, referee Yildirim awarded Celtic a free-kick inside the box.

Celtic went looking for the goal which would surely guarantee the three points and after substitute Georgios Samaras led a Celtic counter-attack, Ki's thunderbolt drive was tipped over the bar by Handanovic.

At the other end Zaluska made a fine save from Mauricio Isla, who only had the keeper to beat, but within seconds Hooper clumsily conceded a penalty for a foul on Neuton and Abdi sent Zaluska the wrong way from the spot, to ensure the game ended even, with Celtic fans affording their players a round of applause for their efforts.