Celtic could equal a UEFA Champions League record if they fail to beat Eredivisie side Feyenoord at Celtic Park in tonight’s final Group E game.
The Hoops have picked up just one point from their five matches so far, and are already out of the competition. They cannot qualify for the Europa League knockouts either, and are destined to finish rock bottom of the group regardless of tonight’s result.
📗 #CelticFeyenoord Matchday Guide 👇
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) December 13, 2023
Their solitary draw this season came against Atletico Madrid, who were held 2-2 at Celtic Park in round three. Celtic are now winless in their last 15 Champions League games.
A terrible run for sure, but what’s even more worrying is their home form. Celtic have not won at home in the Champions League in 12 matches – drawing three and losing nine.
Only two sides have ever gone longer without a home win in the competition. Romanian side FCSB (13 from 1996-2013) and Ligue 1 outfit Lille (13 from 2006-21) share the unwanted record.
When Did Celtic Last Win A Champions League Game?
It’s been more than six years since Celtic last won a match in the Champions League. On 27 September 2017, Celtic won 3-0 in Belgium as they defeated RSC Anderlecht – their only win of that group stage campaign.
That would be their last group-stage match for five years, with the Glasgow side failing to reach the competition proper again until September 2022. They have not made it past the Group stage since 2013, where they lost in the last 16. Serie A giants Juventus defeated them 5-0 over two legs in a dominant display.
Celtic haven’t been further than that in the Champions League since the turn of the millennium. Their only back-to-back knockout appearances came in 2007 and 2008, where they exited at the same stage to AC Milan and then Barcelona.
They did take AC Milan to extra time in 2007, though. With the score at 0-0 after two full legs, Brazilian legend Kaka’s extra-time winner broke Celtic hearts.
Celtic’s Last Home Win In The Champions League
Celtic haven’t won at home in the Champions League for more than a decade. Their most recent victory at Celtic Park came in October 2013, as they beat Ajax 2-1 in front of 58,000 fans.
They would fail to pick up any more points that campaign, losing their other five group games and conceding 13 goals. Only twice in the last 20 years have Celtic won successive games in the competition.
In 2006/07, they beat FC Copenhagen 1-0 before a 3-0 win over Benfica on their way to the knockouts. A year later, they also beat Benfica and then Shakhtar Donetsk in back-to-back wins.
Celtic’s Champions League record since then has been dire. This century, they have played 77 Champions League games, winning 18, drawing 13 and losing 46 times.
However, only one of those 18 wins has come in the past decade, the victory over Anderlecht. They have taken just nine points in ten years, though they did not qualify during a number of those seasons.
While beating Feyenoord tonight will not erase more than a decade of mediocrity, it will avoid Celtic joining an unhappy trio of hapless Champions League sides.
Should they fail to win tonight, there’s a good chance they will soon be out on their own as the side who have gone longest since a home win in the competition.
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