Ryan Brown 
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Sport
After some Champions League qualifying disappointment in Athens in August, as Celtic lost 3-2 on aggregate, the Scottish Champions eased past Lithuanian side FK Suduva to reach the Europa League Group stages.
As second seeds in the draw they were handed a pretty tough group selection as last year’s semi-finalists RB Salzburg joined Bundesliga high-flyers RB Leipzig along with old foes Rosenborg in Group C.
A late Leigh Griffiths header got the misfiring hoops off to a perfect start in the group before two tough away games against the Red Bull sides ended in two limp defeats as Celtic once again didn’t cover themselves in glory on the road in Europe.
Back to Parkhead on matchday four as the paradise lights started off a terrific night against RB Leipzig as a first half strike from Kieran Tierney put his side in front before an Odsonne Edouard goal gave Celtic the crucial points just seconds after the Germans had levelled.
Next time out it was a rare away win as Scott Sinclair’s header gave Brendan Rodgers’ side the win in Trondheim leaving all to play for between Celtic and Leipzig in the final round of fixtures.
If the German side won their game then Celtic would have to match that result in  order to go through and as Salzburg went two up at Celtic Park it seemed the European dream was over for another year. Olivier Ntcham did pull one back for Celtic but it was the most unlikely source that saw them through as Tore Reginiussen headed home for Rosenborg to snatch a 1-1 draw late on in Leipzig.
Into the Last 32, Valencia were drawn out the hat and despite a typically brilliant first leg atmosphere at Parkhead, it ended with disappointment as a goal in each half saw the Spanish take a two goal advantage to the Mestalla after a sloppy Celtic performance.
Inevitably, the second leg saw Celtic bow out of the competition but it wasn’t without a fight like many suggested. A confident and positive start was hampered by a Jeremy Toljan red card before Kevin Gameiro killed the tie, but Rodgers had a lot to be proud of from his players.
Here’s how we rated the players and the manager after this year’s Europa League Campaign.
