In the moments before kick-off, the Estadio da Luz was briefly plunged into darkness before a spectacular light-show illuminated this magnificent arena.As the names on the Benfica team-sheet were read out on the tannoy, and the home crowd belted out the official club anthem, all manner of strobe effects and disco lights dazzled the eyes.With enough electricity surging through this place to blow the national grid in Portugal, it made you wonder whether half of Lisbon had been left without power for a couple of minutes.Yet, when the match started, it took only five minutes for the lights to go out on Celtic. They fell behind to a Jhon Duran penalty and a wretched first half would see them 3-0 down by half-time.On nights like this, Martin O’Neill wouldn’t be human if he didn’t feel cause to reflect on his decision to stay on as manager this season.Having lost their opening match against Ferencvaros in Glasgow by a scoreline of 3-1 a few weeks ago, the painful reality is that Celtic have turned into Europa League also-rans.There are, of course, still six matches in which to try and mount some sort of comeback and progress to the knockout stages. Sinisalo is helpless as Jhon Duran dinks home Benfica’s first from the penalty spot But there is simply no evidence to support any theory that this Celtic team would be capable of going on such a run.In this fabled city which holds such historic links to Celtic, O’Neill had asked his players to channel the spirit of the Lisbon Lions in their efforts to cause a shock.But they were lambs rather than lions. This cavernous arena had the distinct feel of an abattoir during those opening 45 minutes when Celtic were thrown to the slaughter.Credit to Celtic for at least showing some fight and making a game of it in the second half, with Camilo Duran pulling one back, but giving a team like Benfica a three-goal start was never likely to prove fruitful.This was another chastening night in Europe for O’Neill and his players, who must now regroup ahead of another huge match against Hearts at Parkhead on Sunday.O’Neill sprung a couple of surprises with his team selection. Auston Trusty came in to replace Liam Scales at centre-back and Dane Murray also kept his place in the heart of defence.A loan signing from Parma in the summer, Danish midfielder Oliver Sorensen came into make only his third start of the season for Celtic.After making a late dash from Glasgow to Lisbon following the birth of his child earlier this week, Camilo Duran started in a front three alongside Kasper Hogh and Sebastian Tounekti.Earlier in the week, there had been some reports in the Portuguese media that Benfica boss Marco Silva could make wholesale changes and field a B team for this match.Those proved to be unfounded. Although Silva did rotate to an extent, there was still a strong spine to the Benfica team as they looked to build on their 2-0 win against AC Milan in the San Siro in their opening game.A £23million signing from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer, Ukrainian international Georgiy Sudakov operated in the No 10 position in Silva’s 4-2-3-1 system.Benfica also spent £14m to take Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich, the former Fulham and Tottenham midfielder anchoring the midfield alongside skipper Fredrik Aursnes.The home side also had a further £30million worth of attacking talent on the wings in Belgium’s Dodi Lukebakio and Argentinian Gianluca Prestianni, as well as former Barcelona centre-back Clement Lenglet.Perhaps the only blessing from Celtic’s point of view was the absence of Vangelis Pavlidis, the Greek striker who has fired 14 goals in 14 matches so far this season. Jhon Duran was preferred up front instead.It would be Duran who was at the heart of it as Benfica came flying out of the traps and took the lead with only five minutes on the clock.Celtic defender Murray took a wild swipe and kicked through the back of Duran’s leg, with the Montenegrin referee Nikola Dabanovic duly pointing to the spot.With ice flowing through his veins, former Aston Villa striker Duran dusted himself down and dinked a cheeky panenka straight down the middle past Viljami Sinisalo.O’Neill had spoken pre-match about a desire to see his team be competitive and have a go, despite the odds being stacked against them.Hogh had a low shot saved by Anatoliy Trubin before a long shot from Mika Baur stung the palms of the Benfica keeper just moments later.But it was rapidly turning into a horror show for Celtic. After getting off to the worst possible start, they conceded a second goal on 23 minutes. Auston Trusty despairs as Benfica striker Jhon Duran scores his second goalThe outstanding Prestianni, a thorn in Celtic’s side all night down the left side of Benfica’s attack, cut in and clipped a simple cross in behind.Having advanced forward from right-back, Alexander Bah was left totally unmarked and cushioned a finish beyond Sinisalo to double the home side’s lead.Desperately seeking to gain some kind of foothold in the match, Celtic struck the woodwork twice in a matter of seconds.Hogh should have scored when he met a Tounekti cross but his shot struck the post, with Camilo Duran then gathering the rebound and striking a combination of the bar and post.The game was effectively over as a contest after just 36 minutes when Benfica scored a third, Duran holding off the attention of Trusty and firing low past Sinisalo.Sinisalo, who had spoken pre-match about his surprise at being dropped a few weeks ago, should have done better. He was beaten far too easily at his near post. Striker Kasper Hogh misses a chance during Celtic’s defeat against BenficaRipped apart in the most brutal fashion once again in Europe, this was threatening to turn into another night of humiliation for Celtic against a Benfica side who had hardly broken sweat.When they fell 3-0 behind to Rangers at Ibrox last month, Callum McGregor was seen gesturing to his team-mates and saying: ‘No more goals’.The skipper, whose influence has steadily declined in these big games in recent times, was now involved in another painful exercise in damage limitation.How many goals would Benfica feast on? On a night which saw one Duran in the Benfica team and another in Celtic’s, would the home side be Hungry Like the Wolf?The second half had the distinct feel of the home side taking their foot off the gas knowing that the job was already complete.Celtic pulled a goal back just after the hour when Duran got across his marker to head home from a Haissem Hassan cross.That seemed to spark something of a wobble for the home side. Having been so impressive, Benfica totally lost their way for a period of 10 or 15 minutes.Celtic almost pulled another goal back when Duran rattled the post after a good team move, albeit Andreas Schjelderup then did the same for Benfica only moments later.O’Neill’s side were vastly improved in the second half, but any lingering doubts about the final outcome were finally extinguished when substitute Pavlidis rifled low beyond Sinisalo with just a couple of minutes left.