IT was a night of frustration for Celtic on matchday one of their UEFA Europa League group-stage campaign, losing 3-1 at home to AC Milan.

The damage was done in the first half, with the Italian side scoring two goals without reply, but a change of formation after the break saw the Hoops take the game to the Serie A leaders, and Moi Elyounoussi’s goal with 15 minutes remaining gave Neil Lennon’s side a glimmer of hope before Milan scored their third in the last minute of added time.

For Ryan Christie, who came on at the start of the second-half along with Elyounoussi, there was disappointment in losing the game, even though he was pleased to be back playing after his recent enforced absence.

Speaking after the game, Christie said: “I think, on a different night, we could have pushed and got the equaliser. There was certainly a spell when it was 2-1 and I did feel that we were pushing and they were under the cosh a little bit.

“That’s why it’s so frustrating at the end not to get something, and then for them to nick a third goal at the end, that flatters them in ways. But we probably gave ourselves too much to do going into the second half.

“When you start well against teams like AC Milan, you have to keep the back door shut. You noticed that last year in the Lazio game when we played here at home. We started so well and still went in 1-0 down. But that’s what happens in European football when you come against these great sides.

“They can play, even in periods out of possession and still be a threat on the counter-attack. It’s something you learn from. We’ve been in this competition many times and we definitely know this group isn’t over.

“It’s a frustrating start but we know we can go and pick up points elsewhere.”

Ryan Christie: We can take heart from Europa League opener