Firstly, we need to consider a few things before really getting into how Celtic performed in the Europa League this season.
Looking at the final standings [UEFA], the numbers jump out. 3 wins, 3 losses, 9 points. A points tally that for a lot of groups, would’ve been enough to qualify. A remarkable 13 goals scored, a pitiful 15 conceded.
We were promised entertainment, to be fair. And for 5 out of 6 Europa League games this season, that’s exactly what we got. Goals galore, huge moments, some unforgettable goals. Jota and Kyogo linking up to sink Ferencvaros will live long in the memory.
As will Josip Juranovic dinking a panenka over Lukas Hradecky in Bayer Leverkusen’s own backgarden.
Still, looking at the groups, it’s hard not to be frustrated. Against Betis in Seville and Leverkusen at the BayArena, we were in a brilliant position to take all three points.
So let’s break it down and look at what can be learned from Celtic in the Europa League this season.
Celtic will need to build mental toughness for European travails
I know, this is torture, but if Celtic had held on against Betis first time round, and Leverkusen in our second meeting, we could’ve ended up with 15 points.
If I had wheels I’d be a bike, etc. But in both games, Celtic were close to pulling off famous wins. That we didn’t is, as much of anything, about mental stamina as well as physical.
Ange Postecoglou has worked extremely hard on the mindset of these players. Betis in Seville seemed a bit like a hangover effect from last season. That was the problem last term, too; Celtic would develop amazing leads in Europe, and watch them dissipate. Against AC Milan and Lille, Celtic held the cards, and then proceeded to drop them on the floor.
This is learned behaviour that can be fixed. The players now have a manager capable of instilling real belief in this squad. We saw the best example of that last night, albeit it was too late to get us through to the next round.
Against Betis at Celtic Park last night, the Bhoys suffered set-backs, but battled back to get a result. Maybe last night “didn’t matter” but that’s the kind of resolve you can’t buy. It’s also something that’s flown way under the radar.
The ability is there. Now, the challenge ahead of the rest of the season, and looking into the future, is getting the mental part right.
There is room for Celtic to hope after strange Europa League campaign
There’s no getting around the fact that Celtic were handed a nightmare of a group. Bayer Leverkusen have hundreds of millions of pounds worth of talent. Don’t be shocked to see them sell the likes of Florian Wirtz for £100m+ in years to come.
Add Diaby, Schick, our own former defender Jeremie Frimpong and there’s one heck of a team there. As for Betis, one glance at the La Liga standings will show you how much they’ve improved under the ageless Manuel Pellegrini.
Yet, this was a group we got 9 points from. With the experience of this year, and a slightly kinder draw in future competitions, there’s no reason why the core of the team Ange has built could make a more substantial go of it.
For a lot of these players, it was the first real number of minutes in European action. Let alone as Celtic players – and that’s something we’ll get to.
There will be ill-informed critics who will suggest Celtic “blew” this Europa League campaign. But in a season where domestic football remains the focus, and with an essentially brand new team, Postecoglou and his Bhoys had a right go. There’s nothing stopping the same team making a real impression in the inaugural Europa Conference League, and taking things from there.
This was not a disaster. Not by any means.
The late-summer trolley-dash culture has to end for Celtic to make impression in Europe
Again, for so much of this team, they were barely getting used to being at the club. Let alone the players they were next to, the stage and everything that comes with Celtic.
What the plan has to be is some consistency in the starting XI. That’s by no means Ange Postecoglou’s fault; key players had to leave this summer, and a lot of business had to be done.
But we can’t keep having summers where there’s significant turnover and late replacements. Not if the club realistically expect to do something in European football. Against Betis, there was essentially a new back four playing. For our first Europa League group game, getting a result in those circumstances would’ve been phenomenal.
We say this every year; planning ahead is utterly crucial. Again it cost us this season. We conceded needless goals against Betis, the game that ended up perhaps having the most impact on the group, from our perspective. Would a more settled starting XI have done the same?
I highly doubt it.
Read more: Manuel Pellegrini speaks; he isn’t a happy man after Celtic fringe Bhoys show up Betis
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