Much of the post-match focus was on the non-goal, but Schmeichel’s mistake handed the initiative to Braga.

Horta’s shot had an expected-goals value of just 0.027, but it evaded the 38-year-old’s goalkeeper’s grasp.

“He’ll be really disappointed with it,” Rodgers said. “It’s a good strike and it’s obviously moved a little bit, but I haven’t spoken to him about it.”

Beyond the defensive errors, this was yet another game where Celtic have failed to fire this term.

Maeda is being played out of position to accommodate Tounekti, while every midfield combination Rodgers has tried has lacked cutting edge and energy.

They were unable to break down Kazakh side Kairat Almaty over three-and-a-half hours as they dropped out of the Champions League.

And this is the fewest matches into a campaign in which Celtic have had five games without scoring since the 1991-92 season.

Supporters have highlighted the perceived lack of transfer ambition in the summer.

But Celtic’s struggles stretch back to February, when they ran Bayern Munich close before being knocked out of the Champions League.

Since then, they have failed to win 12 of 27 matches in all competitions.

“It was a poor Celtic performance,” former Scotland forward James McFadden said on Sportsound. “Lacking quality, something we’re not used to seeing with Celtic.

“I think the change of shape at half-time helped a little bit, but in the end Braga deserved the win.”

Defensive errors and a lack of attacking quality is rarely a winning combination.

“Not enough intent for me,” former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner said. “Keeping the ball fine, moving it around, but not enough real intent in that final third.

“Not able to defend and big, big mistakes from Schmeichel.”

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