Elyounoussi is giving the boss his full support

AMID t he swirl of mixed e motions, pride and satisfaction battled for supremacy with a niggling sense of frustration. And a healthy dollop of defiance.

As happy as he should have been with his fifth and sixth European goals of the season, Mohamed Elyounoussi couldn’t shake the feeling that this was an opportunity missed for Celtic.

And, while he might berate himself for not shooting when the hat-trick was in his sights, he certainly didn’t miss the critics who had been taking pops at Neil Lennon in the build-up to last night’s battling draw in Lille.

‘I don’t know why anyone should criticise him,’ said the Norwegian international.

‘He’s shown over many, many years that he’s a good manager. We believe in him and his staff.

‘Of course it has been a difficult week for us but we have to stick together, stick to the plan and we’ll come out stronger. We are 100-percent behind him. Of course.

‘Being written off was a motivation, of course. But we stuck to the plan — and had a really good plan.

‘We needed some luck. Scott Bain was incredible, I scored two nice goals.

‘We’re just disappointed not to get three points but we played against a really good team at the top of the French table. So it’s okay.

‘If you had offered us a point before the game, we would have been happy.

‘But, when you’re leading 2-0, you have to be just disappointed that we didn’t get the win.

‘A win would have been huge for us so there are mixed emotions right now.’

In so many ways, this was a night when the big decisions paid off for Celtic boss Lennon.

They were certainly been worth their two-goal lead, if only for the quality of both strikes by Elyounoussi.

His first was an absolute screamer, with Albian Ajeti deserving a mention in dispatches for his delicious little flick in the build-up.

Elyounoussi’s second underlined the advantages of that 4-2-3-1 system that uses ‘inverted wingers’ on both flanks, capable of driving in at the back post and finishing with their stronger foot.

With Ryan Christie on the right, Elyounoussi on the left and Olivier Ntcham providing central support for Ajeti, Lennon looked to have got his set-up spot on.

They had chances to stretch their lead — and opportunities to bag a third. Which is where Elyounoussi’s lingering feelings of regret come into the mix.

Asked to pick a favourite between his two goals, the versatile attacker insisted: ‘I can tell you what wasn’t my favourite moment — the chance I had to score in the second half when I didn’t shoot.

‘I don’t think too much about the ones I scored. I’m more disappointed with the moments in the second half when I could have passed it earlier or just gone for it, as I did in the first half.

‘Obviously I’m happy with my two goals but still a bit disappointed I couldn’t get a hat-trick.

‘I’m happy to help the team to get the point tonight. This is the level I want to play on. You play against good sides, get a bit more space and can just go for it.

‘Sometimes in the Scottish league it’s a bit more difficult, you play against teams who defend well, it’s tight, not much space. That’s why I enjoy the European games.

‘There will always be some difficult moments — it’s been a difficult week.

‘But now we will take this positivity into Sunday’s game.’