As meaningful Champions League progress arrives, the pity for Celtic’s supporters is that they may be denied the chance to see their team compete in the flesh at that stage.
Uefa issued a suspended ban on Celtic selling tickets for an away fixture in Europe in response to the lighting of fireworks during the hammering at Borussia Dortmund. Should Uefa deem a smoke bomb, tossed on to the Villa Park playing surface during celebrations for Adam Idah’s first goal, triggers that sanction then no Celtic fans will travel to Munich or Madrid next month. Ouch. So much depends on the report submitted by Adrian Casha, Uefa’s delegate at this game. Celtic are praying for leniency.
Celtic can enter the playoff tie with confidence, buoyed by their reaction to Aston Villa’s early onslaught. Villa emerged victorious and deservedly so but there were aspects to Celtic’s performance that further demonstrated a maturity at European football’s elite level. There should be a morale boost after making this match far more tetchy for Villa than it initially looked would be the case. Celtic’s players deserved the warm applause at full time that arrived from fans who hung around. That recognition was for an entire campaign, yielding 12 points and featuring memorable matches. This was one of them. Celtic are worthy of praise for competing with a team of Villa’s standing. For too long, they had been European cannon fodder.
“The word that comes to me right now is pride,” Brendan Rodgers said. “After the second goal, there is a question asked of you. To take the game right to injury time, with it in the balance, was a great effort by the players.”
On that wounding night in Dortmund, the roof had caved in on Celtic by half-time. Villa were horrendously wasteful, which assisted the Celtic cause. Still, the visitors showed poise and bravery even before Idah hauled them back into it. The Irishman’s second goal came at the end of a terrific move. At 2-0 down, with Matty Cash receiving treatment, Rodgers delivered an impromptu touchline team talk to his players. Whatever the message, it worked.
This felt a good time for Villa to face Celtic. Cameron Carter-Vickers, Rodgers’ most influential defender, was missing through injury. Daizen Maeda dictates much of the Celtic press with his boundless energy; he was suspended. With Kyogo Furuhashi being allowed to leave for Rennes in recent days, Rodgers was without his first-choice striker. Enter Idah, whose smart finishing suggested he can become more of a mainstream Celtic figure than has been the case since his summer arrival from Norwich City. Goals aside, Idah visibly worried the Villa defence. Backslaps from Rodgers after Idah left the scene, 11 minutes from time, were fully deserved. Celtic were utilising youngsters and fringe players by that point, in a nod to the bigger picture.
The encouraging thing for Rodgers is that Celtic have huge scope to improve. Carter-Vickers will return to the back line. Whether Kieran Tierney makes his move to Celtic from Arsenal in the coming days or the summer, he will instantly become the finest player in Scotland. Much is made of Tierney’s injury woes; far more attention should be paid to how talented and versatile he is. For Celtic, this is a terrific move. Jota, ineligible for the Villa game, will boost attacking options when up to speed. One assumes Furuhashi will be replaced, given Celtic have more than enough resources to do so.
People attached to Celtic tend to object when Scottish football’s low standard is pointed out. This is taken as a jibe at Celtic’s dominance, as if the grim standard of the remainder of the top flight teams is somehow their fault (when of course it is not). It is on occasions such as this that the Celtic challenge is laid bare. Villa will punish defensive slackness – just as they did in the opening five minutes – where Motherwell or Kilmarnock cannot. This only emphasises Celtic’s distinct challenge, which is to rise considerably above what is required at home week upon week when it comes to the Champions League. They have met the task with a finishing league position above Manchester City, Sporting, Stuttgart and RB Leipzig, to name a few. Celtic’s points haul matched that of Juventus.
“We have built a really good foundation over these eight games,” Rodgers said. “We have qualified on merit. Aston Villa hadn’t conceded a goal at home in the Champions League. We learnt from Dortmund, got over the setback. Real Madrid or Bayern Munich will be a huge challenge but we are building confidence at this level. We can make it tough for the top teams.” The players of Real and Bayern are unlikely to lose sleep about the prospect of taking on Celtic. Either side will, however, be wary. Celtic’s Champions League development, again in evidence at Villa Park, ensures that.
