BRENDAN RODGERS will tonight lead his players into into his 53rd European encounter during his two stints as Celtic boss.
It’s matchday five in the new-look Champions League and the Hoops boss is looking for a fourth successive home win in Europe’s elite competition when they take on Club Brugge at Parkhead.
Last season, Feyenoord were beaten 2-1 and this time around Rodgers has seen his side hammer Slovan Bratislava 5-1 and overcome RB Leipzig 3-1.
Following tonight’s meeting with the Belgians, they will face Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia next month, Young Boys at Parkhead and Aston Villa in the Midlands in January next year.
JUST PARADISE…a beaming Brendan Rodgers acknowledges the fans after Celtic’s 3-1 win over RB Leipzig at Parkhead this month.
Rodgers has guided the Hoops to 20 wins and nine draws while losing 23 of his previous 52 outings in charge.
Remarkably, the 51-year-old Irishman 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 2024/26
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
* DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Club Brugge this evening – only in your champion CQN.
