The Scottish heavyweights enjoyed an ineradicable domestic campaign under new manager Brendan Rodgers as they secured their fourth ever ‘national treble’ ( Scottish Premiership, Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup) in Celtic’s history. Although they had a dismal UEFA Champions League season and were knocked out from the group stage, the Hoops remained unbeaten in all domestic competitions en route of their treble glory.
Celtic Players Who Impressed This Season
Celtic’s dominance has been an outcome of their team spirit as well as collective efforts. Every individual played his part on and off the field and helped the Scottish giants to rewrite history. Kieran Tierney, the 19-year-old left back, became a regular in Brendan’s starting lineup and is attracting interest from several top Premier League outfits.
Also, Moussa Dembele, the highly-rated young Frenchman, had a successful campaign with 32 goals from 46 outings (including 3 hat-tricks) altogether since his summer move from Championship side Fulham. Manchester City loanee Patrick Roberts was impressive as well and continued his good run of form down the right flank with his pace, dribbling and finishing traits.
Players Who Disappointed The Most:
Despite becoming frozen out of the first-team under Brendan Rodgers following a shambolic pre-season, Nigerian centre-back Efe Ambrose rejected a move to Standard Liege and later his move to Blackburn Rovers fell through in winter. He eventually ended up with Scottish second-tier outfit Hibernian on a loan deal back in February after only a couple of European outings since last summer.
Cristian Gamboa, the Costa Rican international, joined the Scottish heavyweights last summer on a three-year deal after failing to hold a first team place with Premier League outfit West Bromwich Albion following a two-year spell. But the right back once again failed to become a first-team regular and most of his league outings were off the bench.
Season Status
Celtic produced one of their greatest ever football seasons and wrote history following a national treble, remaining unbeaten. They finished their League campaign with 106 points, 30 points clear of second-placed Aberdeen and qualified for Champions League second qualifying round.
However, the hoops had a disastrous display in this elite European competition as they were knocked out from the group stage finishing bottom of their group behind the European heavyweights Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach, failing to register a single victory.
Areas of Improvement
Celtic have uplifted their game under Brendan Rodgers who has injected great passing football similar to his Liverpool tenure. Scottish League, however, lacks quality these days and the rivals are not at par with Celtic’s grade. The Hoops have a decent squad, but that is not great enough to compete in the Champions League. They need an injection of experience and the Celtic gaffer is already in the market in order to compete for Europe’s elite for a move this summer.
Expectations From 2017/18
Celtic had a cakewalk in the domestic competitions, however, the scenario might change next year as their age-old rivals Rangers are expected to provide a stern contest following a third-placed finish on their return to the Premiership. Yet, Celtic will be hoping to continue their domestic dominance and qualify for the group stages of Champions League and perform better, unlike the recent season.
