Celtic might be going through a very successful campaign and closing in on an unlikely double, but the talk of Scottish football shifted towards the Rangers last night as they booked their place in the Europa League final by beating RB Leipzig 3-2 on aggregate in the semi-finals. And hopefully, the Hoops will use this as fuel for their own upcoming European campaigns.
Celtic had a disappointing one this time around. They got knocked out of the Champions League qualifying rounds early on and could not make it past the Europa League group stage. They would then lose their first tie in the Europa Conference League as well.
The only highlight of their European campaign was a win over eventual Copa del Rey winners Real Betis. And it is safe to say that they have been overshadowed by the Rangers in Europe for the past several years now.
Ange Postecoglou was recently asked about the Rangers making the Europa League final and the Celtic manager was all class about it. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, he told Sky Sports:
"“Yeah, it just goes to show you there are two very strong teams in the Scottish Premiership.“They’ve done awfully well Rangers, to get to the final. They deserve to get to the final with their performances, particularly in the semi-final. They have a good chance to win it.“From my perspective, if we win the league and we’re in there [the Champions League groups], then both clubs deserve to play at that level.”"
Celtic manager reacts to Rangers making the Europa League final
Europe has been a hurdle that Celtic have not quite managed to overcome for a long time now. It has been a good while since they made the Champions League. And they have had nothing substantial to show in the Europa League either, except for a few wins over big teams here and there.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have provided the blueprint though on how to win knockout ties in Europe. Somehow hang on in the away legs and make the most of the home advantage in the other leg. And it has served them very well till now.
Celtic fans must have been devastated to see the Rangers reach the Europa League final and they should be. But the club needs to take the positives out of this and use them to help their own European campaigns in the future.