Celtic’s Champions League state of play after two rounds of fixtures

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The Celtic Star

·04 de outubro de 2024

Celtic’s Champions League state of play after two rounds of fixtures

After suffering a cruel 7-1 demolition in Dortmund, Celtic have dropped 18 places in the new Champions League format following two rounds of fixtures…

Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League match between Borussia Dortmund and Celtic FC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on October 01, 2024. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

The post-mortem from another abject away performance in Europe has been in overdrive in recent days. The consequences of the loss have been hit hard as Celtic languish slightly above the crucial top 24 places.

Vídeos OneFootball

Having beaten Slovakian title winners Slovan Bratislava in the opening Champions League fixture, Celtic sat 2nd out of 36 teams with a +4 goal difference. Fast forward two weeks, and the goal difference has been reduced to -2. The Hoops have dropped to 20th in the table. Considering nine points is the objective for similar level teams in pots 3 and 4, goal difference could play a vital role in securing that elusive play-off tie.

Up next for Celtic is a trip to Bergamo to face the Europa League winners of last season. Atalanta have got off to a flyer, drawing with Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal 0-0 in their opener and then convincingly putting aside Shakhtar Donestk 3-0 in Poland. Gian Piero Gasperini’s side will be heavy favourites heading into the encounter in less than three weeks time.

Furthermore, Celtic’s next home game in Europe’s elite club competition is against RB Leipzig. Despite having an extra man and leading 2-1, the Germans blew their lead and lost the game 3-2. Ominously, Leipzig’s next opponents are Liverpool, should they lose three on the trot, the Germans will be coming to Celtic Park needing to win.

Matches five to seven are where Celtic will be looking to pick majority of their points up. Club Brugge sit one place below the Celts having recovered from an opening game 3-0 defeat from Borussia Dortmund. A 1-0 victory away to Sturm Graz has propelled the Belgians up the table.

Meanwhile, Dinamo Zagreb who sacked their manager post-Bayern humiliation, blew a two goal lead at home to Monaco to draw 2-2. A sore one for the Croatians who are sitting on one point with a -7 goal difference after only two games.

Celtic’s penultimate opponents in the league phase, Young Boys, sit bottom of the table. Aston Villa and Barcelona are a tough first set of fixtures. However, the Swiss side have started their own domestic league season terribly and come game number seven, they may well already be down and out.

Kasper Schmeichel acknowledges the fans after the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League match between Borussia Dortmund and Celtic FC at BVB Stadion Dortmund on October 01, 2024. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

Of course, the final match in Celtic’s mini-league is in Birmingham against high-flying Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side replicated the 1982 European Cup final with a 1-0 win over Bayern Munich on Wednesday night. Opposite to Young Boys, Villa could have secured a top 8 finish by then with Brendan Rodgers hoping that the game has little riding on it for our opponents.

When the fixtures were first published, sitting on three points after two games seemed to be the consensus. With six games to play and more importantly, three massive home games, top 24 is a realistic ambition. Performances away from home must significantly improve though, and that must start in Italy.

Conor Spence

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