Celtic bowed out of the UEFA Champions League this week with a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Bayern Munich. The Scottish Champions had looked to take the game to extra time in Munich but a late strike helped Vincent Kompany’s side through to the next round.
Attention will return to domestic business but fans are already looking ahead at next season’s UCL as they plot another fine run. After three seasons of automatic qualification, Celtic will need to navigate a two-legged play-off. The ties are currently scheduled for 19/20 and 26/27 August. Victory would secure a spot in the Champions League, while defeat would see them drop into the Europa League for the remainder of the season.
Due to Scotland’s coefficient, Celtic would be seeded for the draw. As things stand, though subject to change, their potential opponents include FC Basel, Qarabag, Slovan Bratislava, Ludogorets Razgrad, or Sturm Graz, with a fourth consecutive Champions League appearance on the line.
These teams are all beatable and Celtic should be looking towards returning to the competition next season but the main focus will be securing the title and then the Scottish Cup. Brendan has shown what he is capable of and the manager requires backing to keep this squad together and to build on the squad that is there.
