Celtic managed to win at the weekend against Motherwell by a 2-0 scoreline to snap a three-game losing streak they had the international break to dwell on.

On another day, the scoreline could have been far more one-sided and looked better for Celtic. But ultimately, nobody will be complaining about three points right now.

The clean sheet was particularly impressive considering some of the players who were missing on the day.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, who drew the headlines for his comments following the Glasgow Derby defeat, was not even in the squad due to injury. On the other hand, Auston Trusty remained on the bench as an unused substitute.

As reported by CeltsAreHere, Martin O'Neill said while speaking on BBC Sportsound regarding the reasoning behind Trusty's absence: 

“Well, Trusty’s had a long time there out in America. I think they were travelling all over the place as well.

“He came back and didn’t feel so well on Friday, and did a little bit of training as well too. So it was one of those to rest him.”

One would hope that Trusty is back to 100 per cent when Celtic take to the pitch this week to take on Benfica away in Portugal in the Europa League.

With Carter-Vickers expected to miss that game through fitness issues, Celtic could certainly do with the experience of Trusty in the heart of defence. If that does happen, it would most likely mean the exclusion of Dane Murray from the starting XI.

It was Murray and Liam Scales who started as the starting centre-back duo against Motherwell, and managed to keep a clean sheet.

Despite that, it is unlikely that O'Neill would rely on Murray if he does have Trusty available for selection on the day.

Even then, it is a positive that Murray was involved at the weekend. He should be ready to start if the situation calls for it.

Celtic let themselves down in the Europa League opener, losing at home against Ferencvaros. When the fixtures were made, that is one of the matches the fans would have hoped to see the Hoops pick up all three points in.

Obviously, that increases the pressure on Celtic in the upcoming fixtures, as they seek to get past the group phase of the Europa League.

The away game in Portugal was always expected to be tough. But now, Celtic find themselves in a situation where they need to pick up points against Benfica, which is easier said then done.

Celtic have gotten some very decent results in Europe in recent times though. So, it is very much possible that they could pick up something against Benfica as well.