Can Celtic finally end their excruciating wait for a European knockout stage victory? The Hoops made it through the Europa League league phase on the final matchday, accumulating 11 points, cementing their spot in the top 24 courtesy of a 4-2 home win over Utrecht last month.
So now, Martin O'Neill's team will take on VfB Stuttgart in the competition's first knockout round, welcoming Sebastian Hoeneß's team to Glasgow on Thursday, before the return leg at Neckarstadion a week later. An unlikely victory for the Hoops would be their first in the knockout stages of any European competition since dumping Barcelona out of the UEFA Cup all the way back in 2004.
Celtic's last 9 European knockout ties.
- 2006/07. AC Milan. UEFA Champions League. 1-0 aggregate defeat.
- 2007/08. Barcelona. UEFA Champions League. 4-2 aggregate defeat.
- 2012/13. Juventus. UEFA Champions League. 5-0 aggregate defeat.
- 2014/15. Inter Milan. UEFA Europa League. 4-3 aggregate defeat.
- 2017/18. Zenit Saint Petersburg. UEFA Europa League. 3-1 aggregate defeat.
- 2018/19. Valencia. UEFA Europa League. 3-0 aggregate defeat.
- 2019/20. København. UEFA Europa League. 4-2 aggregate defeat.
- 2021/22. Bodø/Glimt. UEFA Conference League. 5-1 aggregate defeat.
- 2024/25. Bayern Munich. UEFA Champions League. 3-2 aggregate defeat.
A year ago, Celtic's Champions League adventure came to an end in Germany, ousted by Bayern Munich 3-2 on aggregate, leading on the night in Bavaria, only for Alphonso Davies to equalise in the 94th minute. An absolute gut-punch. Well, the Bhoys' overall record against Bundesliga clubs suggests this year's Europa League adventure may go the same way 133 miles west in Baden-Württemberg.
Celtic's record vs German clubs
Ahead of Thursday's fixture, Celtic and Stuttgart have only ever met once before. This came in the fourth round of 2002/03 UEFA Cup, with Celtic prevailing 3-1 at home; Paul Lambert, current assistant manager Shaun Maloney and Stiliyan Petrov all scoring. They then raced into a 2-0 lead in Germany, Alan Thompson and Chris Sutton on target in the opening 11 minutes, only for die Schwaben to fight back, actually winning 3-2, but not doing enough.
That year, of course, with Martin O'Neill at the helm, as he is again now, the Celts got all the way to the final in Seville, before a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to José Mourinho's Porto at the Cartuja. This victory though is a rare one over German opposition.
Celtic's results against Bundesliga teams
Statistics | Celtic vs German clubs |
|---|---|
Matches played | 32 |
Wins | 5 |
Draws | 6 |
Defeats | 21 |
Goals scored | 26 |
Goals conceded | 56 |
To date, Celtic have lost 21 of their 32 clashes with German clubs, including being beaten in nine of 12 encounters across the last decade. Last season, Brendan Rodgers' team were hammered 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund at Westfalenstadion, the club's joint-second heaviest ever European defeat.
Aside from beating Stuttgart in '03, their other victories have come against Dortmund in '87, Köln in '92, and then RB Leipzig in both 2018 and last season, all at Parkhead, losing 12 of 16 visits to Germany.
Thus, put succinctly, for Celtic to stand any chance of reaching the round of 16, where Porto or Braga would await, Thursday night's first leg in Glasgow's East End is surely a must-win.