Slavia Prague vs Celtic could be on the menu in this season’s Champions League playoff round.
The two sides met each other back in 2017 during a friendly contest that finished 0-0. In terms of competitive action, however, this is a first for either team if it comes about.
It’s vital we don’t get ahead of ourselves of course. Cluj are going to represent our biggest threat to European success yet. They have an experienced manager in Dan Petrescu, and have had positive results in Europe in the past.
But we can’t disregard the playoff draw altogether. And, on social media, some Celtic fans have been reacting to the news with a mixture of emotions.
https://twitter.com/Kieran_Celtic/status/1158323101152829441
https://twitter.com/kmccluskey11/status/1158319736503095297
https://twitter.com/rebelcountybhoy/status/1158351827462701056
https://twitter.com/spunkphone/status/1158323299509833730
https://twitter.com/OwainBanks/status/1158353568362983424
https://twitter.com/MuiryCeltic/status/1158339149474258948
Slavia Prague vs Celtic a tasty looking tie
It goes back to the old saying – we shouldn’t be in the Champions League if we fear this level of opposition. That counts when it comes to Slavia Prague too. Just because they managed a fine quarter-final run in last year’s Europa League doesn’t mean a lot.
If Celtic are fortunate enough to get past Cluj, they should fancy it against Slavia. Neil Lennon will show them the utmost respect, but any sort of fear for this tie shouldn’t be encouraged.
After all, one of the supporters above makes a fantastic comparison. The year before we faced Anderlecht, they managed to get to the Europa League quarter-finals too. They came unstuck against Manchester United in a narrow 3-2 aggregate defeat. The next year, Celtic pummeled the 3-0 on their own patch.
You can’t judge a team on last season’s results. And if we are going to go down that route, our own record regarding Champions League qualifications and domestic domination reads pretty well for us too.
It’s important we don’t put ourselves down if we face Slavia. We have the ability to beat both Cluj and Prague. At the very least, that’s the mentality we should have going into the ties.
You can bet it’s the attitude Lenny and the Bhoys will be sticking to in any case.
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