Villarreal 1 - 0 Celtic: This was the same sad story. Only much worse. Celtic�s defeat in El Madrigal last night was perfectly predictable for those who have watched them scrape one point from 15 away matches in Champions League matches.

This was the same sad story. Only much worse. Celtic's defeat in El Madrigal last night was perfectly predictable for those who have watched them scrape one point from 15 away matches in Champions League matches. But it was rendered almost unbearably piquant by the casual cruelty with which it was inflicted.

An imperious flick from the boot of Marcus Senna from a free-kick 25 yards from goal nullified a Celtic performance of customary bravery but of unusual enterprise on a foreign field.

Gordon Strachan's selection was bold. But fortune did not favour the brave.

His 4-2-3-1 formation provided Celtic with the framework for a performance of some promise and regular composure. It was not to be paid out in the valuable currency of even one Champions League point.

Even after Senna's goal, Celtic could only threaten but not provide the killer touch. Scott McDonald, thrown on as a substitute as Strachan properly abandoned subtle strategy for the hope of the simple crudity of an equaliser, shot over from just inside the box.

Celtic must now travel to Old Trafford with one point from two Group E encounters.

Celtic's disappointment will therefore be huge but they may be consoled by the performance. There were moments of desperation but there was more than the hint of a side who could pass and hold the ball.

Strachan picked his players of pace and precision. Ironically, though, this was not a good performance built on the substantial strengths of the seemingly frail Shunsuke Nakamura, Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady. It was instead placed on the foundations of the holding pair of Paul Hartley and Scott Brown.

This was Brown's best match for Celtic. Senna may have scored but he was harassed all night by the irrepressible Celtic midfielder. Hartley was industrious and responsible. There was a further twist in the cruelty of the result in that it was Hartley who fouled Joseba Llorente to give Senna the chance to score.

It was the lightning flash that followed a first half that offered threatening flashes and a growing, rolling thunder from Villarreal and one moment of genuine menace from Celtic.

The constantly busy and occasionally direct Guiseppe Rossi could, perhaps should, have scored twice for Villarreal in that first period. Georgios Samaras, too, was offered a glimpse of the Villarreal goal. The chances for the Spaniards were straightforward in conception.

First, Stephen McManus was caught under a high ball from Sebastien Eguren and the former Manchester United forward bore down on Artur Boruc who saved with his legs and watched gratefully as Llorente pushed the rebound wide.

Rossi then was presented with a chance by Santi Cazorla directly in front of goal but his sweeping shot was just turned over by Boruc though the Pole's touch escaped the attention of the referee.

Celtic, enjoying good possession, created one chance of note. And it sounded the alarm in the Villarreal defence. Mark Wilson's ball down the right flank was missed by the scrambling Diego Godin and Samaras advanced on goal. The Greek striker attempted to clip the ball around Diego Lopez but hit the goalkeeper's outstretched arm.

The rest of the half was a series of parries and counter parries with the Spaniards carrying the greater threat but being foiled by a mixture of astute and desperate defending.

It had not always been that way. Celtic were introduced gently to the match. Their midfield five secured a decent share of the possession and, crucially, held on to it.

A sultry night became threatening, however, as Villarreal slowly turned up the heat.

Senna and Santi Cazorla both shot wide midway through the half to intimate the Spaniards' desire to mark their slowly growing superiority with a goal.

But Celtic survived, indeed threatened to prosper. Maloney and McGeady offered options out wide and Samaras was relentlessly willing in his gallops into space and consistent in his efforts to offer an outlet for a midfield that was trying to ensure that the back four did not buckle under the strain of facing mobile forwards backed with wily midfielders.

None is more so than the waddling Robert Pires. The Frenchman's movement may not be pleasing to the eye but it is even more ugly for defenders who stare impotently as he drifts in behind the back four.

The first anxiety of the second half followed a piece of subterfuge by Pires that allowed his space for a shot that Boruc saved confidently. The goalkeeper, though was helpless as Rossi again opted to head straight for the Celtic goal but shot wide.

Villarreal's efforts to push the game into the final third gave Celtic space on the break.

McGeady, who had endured rather than enjoyed the first half, suddenly began to scent weakness, particularly when faced with Eguren.

Twice from wide right he found space to target the head of Samaras but his first cross just missed the onrushing Greek and the second was slightly long.

There were moments when Celtic became careless in possession, their equilibrium shattered by the insistent nagging of Villarreal's midfield.

But they were still able to find an answer when danger presented itself. McManus tackled boldly and solidly when Angel Lopez drifted into the box and Hartley was regularly clever in his interceptions.

If all else failed, there was Boruc. The goalkeeper, who was recalled to the Polish international squad yesterday showed why he is so highly regarded.

His saves from Rossi in the first half were replicated in the second, particularly from a swerving Senna shot and from a Cazorla drive.

But then Llorente went down. And so, ultimately, did Celtic.