Matchday Four in the Europa League and Celtic are looking for their first points with the visit of Beskitas to Glasgow’s East End.
Ironically as Celtic tap into the the 60th anniversary of winning the European Cup they are putting up one of their worst ever European campaigns.
Over the last decade Barcelona, Paris Saint Germain and Borussia Dortmund have scored seven goals against Celtic but there has been the slight compensation of those results coming in the Champions League. You can see how we are rated looking at the Footy prediction and see what the market are saying odds wise.
Now Celtic are in UEFA’s second tier competition and second bottom of the 36 team grouping.
The descent has been rapid and painful.
Just two years ago Celtic were sitting on four points from three Champions League matches. They lost the opening goal at home to RB Leipzig but stormed back to win 3-1.
Everyone at the club seemed elated.
The new Champions League format was ideal for clubs like Celtic.
No nasty double headers like Barcelona and Manchester City in 2016 or Bayern Munich and PSG in 2017.
Four matches into the 24/25 Champions League Celtic were sitting on seven points, Confidently plotting at least a Round of 16 Play Off place.
Two years later the team is barely recognisable from that campaign. The hope, excitement and expectation that it created are long gone.
Back in his dynamic first spell managing Celtic Martin O’Neill warned against life in the Slow Lane.
Tragically he now has the keys to the Honda Civic vacated by Rodgers a year ago.
Under three different managers Celtic picked up 11 points in last season’s Europa League group.
O’Neill managed in three of those matches. Defeat in Midtjylland, a victory in Feyenoord then a draw in Bologna. A decent run of results, in the Round of 16 Play Off Celtic won in Stuttgart but it was meaningless after a 4-1 home defeat.
The hope was that there would be a clean break from last season. That hope died in Linz. How many clubs throw away a 4-0 lead in their biggest match of the season with £40m at stake. Answer? Celtic.
Since returning from Linz it has been one way for Celtic in Europe.
Losing to Benfica happens but being 3-0 down at the break was humbling. O’Neill added insult to that result by talking up the incredible second half of a 4-1 defeat.
That came either side of home defeats from Ferencvaros and Celta Vigo. Decent clubs but like Celtic there is a reason that they play their European matches on a Thursday.
Celtic are on the back of four successive European defeats. 58th in the UEFA Coefficient table and 35th in the Europa League. Only Ararat Armenia are below the hoops.
And into that comes Beskitas. With seven points from nine matches, there is an ominous look to Matchday Four in the Europa League.
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