A Win for Celtic Would Be A Big Plus

European football returns this week and next to finish up the league phase of both the Champions League and the Europa League.

Of course, UEFA don’t appear to have thought this through in terms of the transfer window, with January being unusually quiet. Could that have something to do with the fact that no club playing in either tournament can add to their squad until the league phase is completed? Sure, clubs can sell or loan out, but why would you weaken your squad at this crucial period if you can’t replace them?

It could be a busy last couple of days, given the Europa League will conclude on the 30th!

We kick off with Celtic’s final home match in the league phase of the Champions League against Swiss side, Young Boys of Berne. The game is live on TNT Sports 3, with an 8pm kick off.

Celtic are currently in the precarious position of twenty first with nine points from the first six matches. It’s only two points ahead of the dreaded twenty fifth spot that Hearts finished in at the end of the league phase in the Conference League. The previous thinking of “number of games plus one” being enough to make the playoffs seems to have fallen by the wayside, with many of the stattos now suggesting that Celtic really need to win one of their last two games to make the knockout round.

Given that eighth place is currently on thirteen points, it’s highly unlikely Celtic will get a bye through to the last sixteen. Celtic are really just aiming to be best placed in the playoffs, and ensuring they’re in them in the first place. Remember, the higher the finish in the league, the better the draw. Had the league phase finished after six matches, Celtic would be playing either Atletico Madrid or AC Milan in the knockout round.

Mind you, given the teams either side of Celtic after six matches were Real Madrid and Manchester City, maybe it’s not as big a deal as you might think!

Celtic’s run so far has seen them hammer Slovan Bratislava 5-1 at Celtic Park on match day one.

Before losing heavily on match day two, 7-1 away to Borussia Dortmund.

Match day three saw Celtic draw 0-0 away to Atalanta.

On match day four, Celtic beat RB Leipzig 3-1 at Celtic Park.

And then on match day four it was a home draw, 1-1 against Club Brugge.

Last time out, there was another goalless draw away to Dinamo Zagreb on match day six.

The last two games might be the concern when the final table is complete, as Celtic were not at their best in their last home game and possibly snatched a draw, whereas in Croatia they were arguably over-cautious in a game that might well have been there to win.

The good news for Celtic though is they are now facing off against a Young Boys side who already cannot qualify for the knockout stages. Indeed, they currently occupy the bottom spot of the league phase, one of three teams on zero points – and Celtic already beat the other two at Celtic Park who are in that position! RB Leipzig and Slovan Bratislava complete the pointless bottom three.

Indeed, Young Boys have a -19 goal difference, having conceded 22 and only scored 3. Considering they knocked out Galatasasay 4-2 on aggregate in the playoff round to qualify for the league phase, that’s a bit of a downturn in fortunes.

They opened up the league phase campaign with a 3-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa.

Then lost 5-0 away to Barcelona.

It was then a narrow 1-0 defeat at home to Inter, the goal coming in injury time.

Young Boys did manage to score in their fourth game, but lost 2-1 away to Shakhtar Donetsk as the Ukrainians came from behind to win.

A 6-1 thrashing at home against Atalanta followed next.

It was then a 5-1 loss away to VfB Stuttgart last time out.

Celtic have faced Young Boys before, back in the 1993/94 UEFA Cup first round. It’s an instantly forgettable tie, with both legs being goalless over ninety minutes and the eventual winning goal in extra time at Celtic Park coming courtesy of an own goal from Alain Baumann. The game is actually more famous for Tiger Tim Stevens being sacked by the Celtic board for announcing Rangers had been knocked out of Europe and asking for a minute’s silence! Not that the humourless and hapless Celtic board themselves lasted that season either. Thankfully.

There’s been other Swiss visitors to Celtic Park over the years. Celtic’s second season in European competition in the 1963/64 Cup Winners Cup started with a 10-1 aggregate win over Basel, the second leg at Celtic Park finishing 5-0 with goals from Jimmy Johnstone, two from John Divers, and one each from Bobby Murdoch and Stevie Chalmers. Celtic actually made it through to the semi final of this competition before letting a 3-0 first leg lead slip away against MTK Budapest. Can’t find footage of this one though.

The successful 1966/67 European Cup campaign started out with a 5-0 aggregate win over FC Zurich, Tommy Gemmell and Joe McBride scoring in the 2-0 win in the first leg at Celtic Park.

Another European Cup final for Celtic in 1969/70 also started with a tie against Swiss opposition. FC Basel were the opponents this time, Celtic got through this tie thanks to the goals of Harry Hood and Tommy Gemmell in the second leg at Celtic Park. No footage of this one unfortunately.

The 1973/74 European Cup quarter finals once against paired Celtic and Basel. The 3-2 win for Basel in the first leg in Switzerland was matched at Celtic Park in the second leg taking the game to extra time. Kenny Dalglish and Dixie Deans turning the tie around, only for Basel to score twice themselves before Tommy Callaghan got the goal to take it to extra time. Steve Murray would eventually get the goal that settled the tie just six minutes away from a penalty shootout. Unfortunately, Celtic then got kicked off the park by Atletico Madrid in the semi final, and Celtic haven’t got that close to the European Cup final since.

A couple of years before the Young Boys meeting in the UEFA Cup, Celtic faced Neuchâtel Xamax is the second round of the UEFA Cup. Celtic won the second leg at Celtic Park courtesy of Joe Miller getting the only goal of the game. However, as Celtic fans of a certain vintage currently twitching at the mere mention of their name know all too well, the damage was done in the first leg as the Swiss side took a 5-1 lead into the second leg. That was Celtic’s worst defeat in Europe until Artmedia Bratislava in 2005 (and even that has since been surpassed).

In the 1998/99 season, Celtic faced FC Zurich in the second round of the UEFA Cup, having dropped into that from Champions League qualifying after defeat to Croatia Zagreb. The game at Celtic Park finished level, Harald Brattbakk’s opener cancelled out by Urs Fischer. Celtic’s run ended there though as the Swiss side won the second leg 4-2.

The pattern of Celtic’s appearances in European finals after opening against Swiss opposition is completed in 2002/03, albeit this one being slightly different. Celtic’s campaign started in Champions League qualifying against FC Basel, beating them 3-1 at Celtic in the first leg. Christian Gimenez gave the visitors an early lead, only for it to be cancelled out from the penalty spot a minute later by Henrik Larsson. Chris Sutton and Momo Sylla added goals in the second half, but that early away goal would prove costly as Basel won the second leg 2-0 to progress into the group stages on away goals. Celtic dropped to the UEFA Cup, where they would eventually reach the final of that competition.

Celtic have faced Swiss opposition once more since then, that coming in the 2011/12 Europa League playoff round. History records that Celtic won both legs 3-0, however those of us that were there know that the game at Celtic Park was goalless. The away leg, on the pitch, finished 3-1 to Sion, but they fact half their team were new signings when they had a transfer ban imposed meant UEFA deemed ineligible and adjusted the scoreline accordingly. Not the last time Celtic would benefit in such a way either! But no footage of the home leg that’s worth sharing here.

As well as the Celtic tie in the 1990s, Young Boys have faced Rangers twice before too. In the 1977/78 Cup Winners Cup qualifying round, Young Boys lost 1-0 at Ibrox thanks to a goal from John Greig. That goal would prove crucial since the second leg in Switzerland finished 2-2. Not that I can find footage of this one either.

More recently, Young Boys met Rangers in the 2019/20 Europa League group stages. The game at Ibrox was a 1-1 draw, Alfredo Morelos’ opener being cancelled out late on by a Borna Barisic own goal. The draw didn’t cost Rangers a place in the knockout stages, but it did stop them topping the group ahead of Porto. Although Bayer Leverkusen ultimately took care of both Porto and Rangers in the next two rounds. You might remember that latter tie, since the two legs were split by about five months thanks to Covid!

Young Boys aren’t faring too well domestically either. They’re currently ninth in the Swiss Super League, eight points behind leaders Lugano after nineteen games. On Saturday, after about a month of a winter break where they’ve played a few friendlies, they drew 0-0 at home against Winterhur. They visit Grasshopper this coming Saturday.

Celtic are currently top of the Scottish Premiership, thirteen points clear of second place Rangers after twenty three games. On Saturday they beat Kilmarnock 2-1 at home in the Scottish Cup. They host Dundee in the league this coming Saturday.

One last statistic. Should Celtic not lose tonight, it will be the first time since 2019/20 that they’ve gone unbeaten at home in a European group stage – that being the Europa League – and the first time since 2012/13 that they’ve gone unbeaten at home in a Champions League group stage. Albeit this is now the League Phase, and there’s four home games rather than three.

Good luck to Celtic tonight!