Euro Progress

Celtic qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for the second season in a row, and then also delivered European football after Christmas

- Mark Henderson

WITH the understandable euphoria on securing an unprecedented historic Double Treble, Celtic’s qualification to the UEFA Champions League for the second season running under Brendan Rodgers has slipped into the background.

But the achievement of reaching the lucrative group stages shouldn’t be overlooked, given the demands of negotiating the earlyseason qualifiers, and it was the first major target achieved in another unforgettable season in Paradise.

The Hoops saw off Linfield and Rosenborg in the second and third qualifying rounds before facing familiar foes, FC Astana in the play-off round. Celtic had edged out the Kazakhstan side 3-2 on aggregate 12 months previously on their way to progressing to the group stages for the first time in three years.

This time, it was a far more resounding victory, with a magnificent performance in Paradise sealing a 5-0 triumph, rendering a 4-3 loss in the away fixture negligible.

“So early in the season, it was a very good performance,” said the manager. “We played Astana the year before and it was a very close game here, which we won 2-1. But on that night we played very well against a good team.

“They started the game very well and you could see their qualities but once we got the momentum in the game and the crowd really helped us, we got a lead which ended up being really vital for us. That was a really good performance so early on in the season.”

Celtic’s reward was a UEFA Champions League section containing big-spending Paris Saint-Germain, eventual semi-finalists Bayern Munich and Anderlecht. A fantastic 3-0 win over Anderlecht in Brussels, Celtic’s first away win in the Champions League in five years, was naturally a major highlight for the manager, as was a tremendous home performance in a narrow defeat to Bayern Munich.