PORTUGUESE star Nani has thanked the vociferous Parkhead crowd for inspiring Fenerbahce into a spirited fightback against Celtic.

Around 45,000 Hoops fans were in attendance to see two early goals from Leigh Griffiths and Kris Commons stun the Turks in the Europa League Group A tie.

However, a howler of a mistake from Efe Ambrose just before half-time allowed Fenerbahce back into the game, before Fernandao connected with a Nani corner three minutes into the second period to bring the game level and complete his brace.

Most Celtic supporters have pointed the finger of Blame at their own Nigerian defender for gifting their opponents a way into the game.

But former Manchester United winger Nani has tipped his hat towards the partisan Celtic support for riling up the visitors and inspiring them into action.

He said: “The fans started to boo us.

“They were trying to put us off our game but at that point it made me happy. It gave me a good feeling because I knew we were playing well and we had them worried.

“I think all the top players enjoy getting stick from opposition fans because it is a mark of respect when you play at the highest level.

“It makes you push harder to help your team get a result.”

He added: “We didn’t start well. We tried to play our football but we couldn’t do it but we played a lot better in the second half and after we got the second goal we took a lot of confidence and we played a lot better.”

After two games Fenerbahce sit bottom of Group A with just one point following defeat to leaders Molde and Thursday’s stalemate.

Nani, though, is not concerned.

He said: “We are a team where everything is new. We have a lot of new players and we only started playing together a couple of months ago.

“Last season most of our team didn’t play European football. A lot of our players are still gaining experience in this competition but Celtic are a team who play at a high level in Europe every season.

“When we play teams like this we need to work hard, be at our best and learn as quickly as possible to play against these teams.”