Why has Celtic’s UCL qualification become more difficult?…
The new format of the UEFA Champions League came into effect this season, and there are already talks of even more tweaks being made to the competition.
Celtic have enjoyed relative success under the new format by finishing in the top 24 of the league table out of 36 teams. This ensured a knockout spot against Bayern Munich, which they ended up losing 3-2 on aggregate after two legs. The question being asked by supporters is ‘why has Celtic’s UCL qualification become more difficult?’ Let’s find out.
Why is it more difficult for Celtic to compete in the UEFA Champions League?
Despite winning the Scottish Premiership and making it past the initial phase of the UCL, unfortunately, Celtic won’t have the luxury of direct/automatic qualification next time around. Instead, the Hoops will have to compete in one round prior to the main phase, which is known as the Play-off round.
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What other changes are rumoured to be implemented?
According to reports, three other major changes are being considered by UEFA that would further shake things up in the world’s biggest domestic football team tournament.
One suggestion was that extra time in the knockout rounds would be taken out. Instead of playing extra time to try and determine a winner, the match might have gone straight to a penalty shootout. This would be that in the event of a draw after 90 minutes, 30 less minutes of football will be played. That proposal will NOT be introduced for next season but don’t be surprised if if follows a year to two down the line.
Another suggestion that has been put forward is that there will be a return leg home advantage. In other words, the top 8 seeded clubs in the league after this initial phase has ended and have qualified for the next phase will get to play their second leg at home. This will happen for the next UCL campaign.
The third and final suggestion applies to the possible reintroduction of country protection. As it stands, clubs that compete in the same domestic league can’t face each other in the league phase. Therefore, if Celtic and theRangers both made it to the league stage, they wouldn’t play each other.
However, if this new proposed rule did come into effect, we could see teams like Celtic and theRangers, Barcelona and Real Madrid, and Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich playing each other. Again this rule will NOT be introduce in the new campaign but it remains on the radar.
Final Thoughts
Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership and also the League Cup as Brendan Rodgers made it two doubles in a row in his first two seasons back in charge at Parkhead. He currently have a strong side and will be looking to strengthen the squad before the start of next season to make an even bigger impact at Champions League level.
Although they have to compete in a play-off round two-legged match to qualify for the league stage of the UCL, they shouldn’t have too much to worry about.
Although direct entry into the UCL league would have been ideal, most fans are confident that they will be playing regular Champions League football and will progress past the league phase next season. We will just have to wait and see what happens.
Looking back at Celtic’s last two matches of the 2024/25 season we notice that Celtic’s tempo shown during the Champions League campaign, which ended so painfully in Munich had dropped off considerably and that ultimately cost Celtic a treble when losing the Scottish Cup Final to Aberdeen.
On 17 May, Celtic were at home to St. Mirren on Trophy Day and it took a stoppage time equaliser from veteran winger James Forrest to avoid the embarrassment of a defeat before the league trophy was. lifted. That was a warning Celtic ignored before facing Aberdeen in the final of the Scottish Cup on May 24. Celtic were the clear odds-on favourite going into the Cup final and were priced in the fractional odds format at around 1/4 to win outright.
In other words, they ha a whopping 80.00% implied probability rate of winning. In comparison, Aberdeen were priced at around 12/1, meaning they only had a 7.70% chance of winning. However, many people outside of Celtic circles, viewed Aberdeen as a good value bet that was worth having a punt on, as they sensed Celtic’s end of season dip.
