In Celtic’s upcoming Champions League match, Brendan Rodgers will square up against Diego Simeone, the manager of Atletico Madrid.
This season, the Argentine has Saul Niguez and Alvaro Morata on fire with the La Liga team playing some incredible football.
To give you a measure of just how good Simeone is as a manager, the 55-year-old has won a La Liga title, a Spanish Cup, a Spanish Supercup, the Europa League twice, the UEFA Supercup twice and has been a runner-up in the Champions League twice. All with the Madrid side.
The man has excellent European credentials and, in a way, you can now understand why the pundits at PLZ Soccer don’t give Celtic a chance against them.
When Tam McManus predicted that Celtic wouldn’t receive a point from Atletico Madrid, he wasn’t giving the Hoops much hope. The hosts, Peter Martin and Alan Rough, predicted that Celtic would “get battered” and that it would be difficult to get out of the group
However, Lennon wasn’t having any of it. In fact, not only does he believe Celtic can take something from Wednesday night’s game against the Spaniards, but he also believes that Brendan Rodgers‘ team can take points on the road at Rome.
Lennon said [PLZ Soccer], “You’re very pessimistic boys, honestly. I think they’re capable of maybe getting something in Rome as well.”
Celtic’s Champions League hopes are slim, but it can be done
Look, I’m a realist. I understand fully that Celtic ceased to be able to compete in the Champions League years ago. Finances and the club’s transfer policy make it all the more difficult for the Hoops to beat Europe’s elite.
However, there is still enough talent within Rodgers’ side to guide them out of Group E whether it be into the last 16 or the Europa League.
The last 16 will require a miracle, but Europa League football is not out of their reach. A win against Atletico will take the Hoops level on points with Feyenoord (should they lose to Lazio).
If Celtic do manage to get a point in Rome then it will come down to Feyenoord’s visit to Celtic Park on who finishes third in the group
Obviously Celtic needs Diego Simeone to beat the Dutch side in Rotterdam and if Celtic does grab a point at Lazio then they don’t need to worry about scoring three against Feyenoord at Celtic Park to guarantee qualification. A 1-0 win will suffice.
A lot of ifs, buts and maybe’s in there but the point is that whilst it will be difficult, qualification from this season’s group is not impossible.
