26 days, 10 months, and 9 years. That was the final occasion Celtic triumphed at home in a Champions League group stage match.
On October 22, 2013, the Hoops overcame Ajax, earning a rare three points in Glasgow’s east end thanks to goals from James Forrest and Beram Kayal. It has been almost ten years since that night. After 10 group stage matches, the once-fortified Parkhead is now just a tourist destination for the best players in Europe who want to experience the legendary European atmosphere and cross it off their football bucket list.
During his initial managerial tenure, Rodgers failed to lead the Hoops to any home victories, but in 2017, he did guide the Scottish champions to just their second-ever Champions League away win with a resounding 3-0 victory over Anderlecht. Now that he wants to make the Hoops a major force on the continental scene once more, he is committed to restoring the terror factor to Celtic Park.
The Treble-winners begin their Champions League campaign on Tuesday night at Feyenoord on the road before welcoming Italian powerhouse Lazio to their stadium on October 4. Although Rodgers is aware of the widening financial gap between Celtic and the elite of Europe, he intends to restore some golden days during his second tenure.
“That stat, that’s more about where the game’s levels have gone,” he remarked. In same 2017 group, we also played incredibly well against Bayern Munich, but ultimately fell short 2-1.
“However, you saw that last night in the Scotland vs. England game. The game is about levels. Although England has some of the top players in the world, Scotland is a really good squad that has defeated Spain.
“You’re trying to develop something that can question that, which is challenging. But I want to see if we can make more of an impact. Although competing at the elite level is difficult, we continue to remain aggressive.
“Hopefully, we can accomplish something in Europe while I’m here. We haven’t won a knockout game in a very long time.
Celtic avoided a tie with some of Europe’s top teams, earning them a favorable Champions League group. If the Hoops are to stay in Europe through Christmas, which is Rodgers’ first aim, they will still need to outperform Feyenoord, Lazio, and Atletico Madrid.
When asked if finishing third in Group E would be a decent result, Rodgers remarked, “I don’t want to make a forecast on anything. We’ll put everything we’ve got into the six games to finish as high as we can.
“We are aware of the caliber we will encounter, but let’s give it our all and see where it leads. I claimed that once Christmas was over, Europe would be a huge success for us.
“Some people may perceive that as a lack of ambition. It’s not at all like that. Getting the necessary number of points to do that is impressive for a club like ours, so congrats on that.
