Feyenoord boss Arne Slot makes superb Celtic vs Rangers claim

Celtic are getting ready to take on a tough test as they face Feyenoord in the Champions League group stage opener away at Feyenoord. Brendan Rodgers’ team might be coming into the game on the back of a couple of wings but the Dutch champions will have to be considered the favourites on the day and for good reason.

Feyenoord showed that they are ready for the Celtic game with a 6-1 win over Heerenveen at the weekend. Last season, they comfortably won the Eredivisie by a 7-point margin over a 34-game league campaign.

Of course, there has been quite a bit of mention of how easily PSV defeated the Rangers in their UEFA Champions League qualifiers recently in the lead-up to this game. The Dutch side won 5-1 at home and 7-3 on aggregate.

Feyenoord manager, Arne Slot, seems to believe that Celtic are a higher level than Celtic though. As reported by The Scotsman, he said:

"“Celtic have only lost to Rangers once in the last six meetings and have been champions nine times in the last 10 years. They have simply been a much better club than Rangers over the last 10 years, although I will now tell the Rangers fans a bit of an insult. If you look at the performances, I think you have to assess them differently than Rangers.”"

Feyenoord manager Arne Slot makes superb Celtic vs Rangers claim

Slot certainly makes a good point there. Even with several key players out injured, Celtic recently got a 1-0 win over the Rangers away at Ibrox.

The only game they have lost to the Rangers in recent times was towards the end of last season. And there was nothing riding on the result of that game, as Celtic had already secured the league title by that point.

But at the same time, one has to take Celtic’s European record into consideration. Admittedly, they have not been great when it comes to the continental stage. The Hoops failed to win a single game in the Champions League last season.

Rodgers’ own record in the Champions League is not good either. He won only one game in Europe’s elite competition over his two group-stage campaigns managing the Hoops during his first stint at Parkhead.