BRENDAN RODGERS will tonight lead his players into into his SIXTIETH European encounter during his two stints as Celtic boss.
A massive £40million cash prize is up for grabs in the second leg of the Champions League play-off against Kairat Almaty after last week’s disappointing goalless deadlock at Parkhead.
It’s another supreme test for the Irishman as the club attempt to gatecrash European football’s most prestigious competition to prove their worth among the elite and make certain they are in Thursday’s draw for the next stage.
SMILES BETTER…Brendan Rodgers looks happy as he jokes with John Kennedy during Celtic’s 1-0 Champions League win over Rosenborg in Norway in August 2017.
Rodgers has guided the Hoops to 21 wins and 13 draws while losing 25 of his previous 59 outings in charge.
Remarkably, the 52-year-old team chief kicked off his career as Celtic manager with a 1-0 loss to Gibraltar minnows Lincoln Red Imps on July 12 2016. Only James Forrest remains at the club of the 14 players utilised that day.
Thankfully, a week later the Hoops rectified the situation with first-half strikes from Mikael Lustig, Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts on their way to a 3-0 win.
SEASON 2016/17
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Second qualifying round
Lincoln Red Imps 1 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 3 Lincoln Red Imps 0 (Agg: 3-1)
Lustig, Griffiths, Roberts
Third qualifying round
Astana 1 CELTIC 1
Griffiths
CELTIC 2 Astana 1 (Agg: 3-2)
Griffiths (pen), Dembele (pen)
Play-Off Round
CELTIC 5 Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2
Rogic, Griffiths (2), Dembele, Brown
Hapoel Be’er Sheva 2 CELTIC 0 (Agg: 5-4)
GROUP STAGES
Barcelona 7 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 0 Barcelona 2
CELTIC 3 Manchester City 3
Dembele (2), Sterling (og)
Manchester City 1 CELTIC 1
Roberts
CELTIC 0 Borussia Monchengladbach 2
Borussia Monchengladbach 1 CELTIC 1
Dembele (pen)
SEASON 2017/18
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Second qualifying round
Linfield 0 CELTIC 2
Haughney (og), Rogic
CELTIC 4 Linfield 0 (Agg: 6-0)
Sinclair (2), Rogic, Armstrong
Third qualifying round
CELTIC 0 Rosenborg 0
Rosenborg 0 CELTIC 1 (Agg: 1-0)
Forrest
Play-Off Round
CELTIC 5 Astana 0
Postnikov (og), Sinclair (2), Forrest, Shitov (og)
Astana 4 CELTIC 3 (Agg: 8-4)
Sinclair, Ntcham, Griffiths
GROUP STAGES
CELTIC 0 PSG 5
PSG 7 CELTIC 1
Dembele
Bayern Munich 3 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 1 Bayern Munich 2
McGregor
Anderlecht 0 CELTIC 3
Griffiths, Roberts, Sinclair
CELTIC 0 Anderlecht 1
EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 32
CELTIC 1 Zenit St Petersburg 0
McGregor
Zenit St Petersburg 3 CELTIC 0 (Agg: 1-3)
SEASON 2018/19
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
First qualifying round
Alashkert 0 CELTIC 3
Edouard, Forrest, McGregor
CELTIC 3 Alashkert 0 (Agg: 6-0)
Dembele 2 (1 pen), Forrest
Second qualifying round
CELTIC 3 Rosenborg 1
Edouard 2, Ntcham
Rosenborg 0 CELTIC 0 (Agg: 3-1)
Third qualifying round
CELTIC 1 AEK Athens 1
McGregor
AEK Athens 2 CELTIC 1 (Agg: 2-3)
Sinclair
EUROPA LEAGUE PLAY-OFF
FK Sudova 1 CELTIC 1
Ntcham
CELTIC 3 FK Sudova 0 (Agg: 4-1)
Griffiths, McGregor, Ajer
GROUP STAGES
CELTIC 1 Rosenborg 0
Griffiths
Rosenborg 0 CELTIC 1
Sinclair
RB Salzburg 2 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 1 RB Salzburg 2
Ntcham
RB Leipzig 2 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 2 RB Leipzig 1
Tierney, Edouard
ROUND OF 32
CELTIC 0 Valencia 2
Valencia 1 CELTIC 0 (Agg: 0-3)
SEASON 2023/24
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
GROUP STAGES
Feyenoord 2 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 1 Lazio 2
Kyogo
CELTIC 2 Atletico Madrid 2
Kyogo, Palma
Atletico Madrid 6 CELTIC 0
Lazio 2 CELTIC O
CELTIC 2 Feyenoord 1
Palma (pen), Lagerbielke
SEASON 2024/25
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
CELTIC 5 Slovan Bratislava 1
Scales, Kyogo, Engels (pen), Maeda, Idah
Borussia Dortmund 7 CELTIC 1
Maeda
Atalanta 0 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 3 RB Leipzig 1
Kuhn 2, Hatate
CELTIC 1 Club Brugge 1
Maeda
Dinamo Zagreb 0 CELTIC 0
CELTIC 1 Young Boys 0
Benito (og)
Aston Villa 4 CELTIC 2
Idah 2
CELTIC 1 Bayern Munich 2
Maeda
Bayern Munich 1 CELTIC 1 (Agg: 3-2)
Kuhn
SEASON 2025/26
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Qualifying Round: Play Off
CELTIC 0 Kairat Almaty 0
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Kairat Almaty v Celtic this evening – only in your champion CQN.
