Was Rangers’ loss to Luxembourg side Progrès Niederkorn really that surprising? Of course, the new Portuguese manager, who was brought to the helm following the dismissal of Mark Warburton, did make some noise in the media following his aggressive stance in the transfer market, but did that for once bring that unwavering belief among the Rangers fans?
Yes, they had brought in eight players, pretty much one in every position, but whether they are any good still remains a huge question among the fans. Rangers managed to be outplayed by a side who scored their third goal in European history in what was their first ever win in Europe. The humiliating loss pretty much dismissed the major hype all the high-profile transfers Pedro Caixinha had managed to pull off prior to that.
And although archrivals, Celtic FC fans wasted no time in mocking their loss, the result does question the credibility of the Hoops’ recently-earned invincible stature, and furthermore, points to the dwindling foundation upon which Scottish football currently stands. Scottish Premiership has been widely considered a non-competitive league for years now where Premier League and sometimes even Championship rejects get to be at their peak.
And Celtic’s previous season reflects it aptly. They had finished with 106 points, garnering a whopping 30-point lead over runner-up Aberdeen. Brendan Rodgers clearly had a complete side in the tournament last season, given their phenomenal dominance over all the aspects; but their Champions League campaign pretty much dismisses it.
The back line that conceded 25 goals throughout the whole of last season of Scottish Premiership, had let in 16 goals in six group stage matches itself, against the likes of Manchester City, Barcelona and Borussia Monchengladbach. While one may surely argue that the Bhoys were pitted against the very best club, the wealthiest side and a decently combative team in the Champions League, one simply cannot ignore the non-existent amount of challenge Scottish clubs possess at the highest level currently.
While the 39-point gap between Celtic and Rangers last season can be easily calculated, it reflects a grave void in standard between them that is impossible to gauge and difficult to sort out- one side that cannot go past the Champions League group stages at their best season, and the other not even worthy of playing in the Europa League.
Next season remains Rodgers’ most crucial one till date and if Celtic continues their blatant formality of just qualifying every year only to get eliminated even before the main tournament starts, they would need to take a hard look in the mirror.
And if Rangers’ ambitious transfer activities, which were definitely keeping in sight Celtic’s rocketing rise, has progressed them only this much, Celtic would be a failure if they don’t retain their unbeaten record next season too.
The onus would clearly be on Brendan Rodgers to set the standards once again, this time at the highest platform in club football when they start their Champions League campaign against Belfast side Linfield. The former Liverpool boss is definitely a better bet than Caixinha in this respect, and Celtic are definitely a confident bunch with immense passion their fans bring with themselves.
Even Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez admires the magical atmosphere one gets to see at Parkhead Stadium on European nights as he went on to state that Celtic are too big a club to put through three rounds of qualification before reaching the group stages. Hence we think, Rangers Europa League exit, although disappointing on the broader realm, hasn’t really taken the shine off Celtic’s invincible stature, not yet.
