How far can Celtic go in this year’s Europa League ?

Celtic put in a remarkable vengeful performance against Romanian champions, CFR Cluj last night, winning 2-0 (which could have easily been more), resulting in the Hoops going top of Group E.

What does this mean for Celtic’s chances of reaching the last 32 and if they do, how far could they end up going in the tournament?

In recent years, Celtic have struggled to make an impact in the knockout rounds of Europe. In fairness to them, there are no easy ties and we have been incredibly unlucky with draws in the past. In our last three Champions League last 16’s, we have come across: Juventus, Barcelona and A.C Milan – all of which are incredibly difficult, nearing impossible match-ups.

In the last three Europa League knockout rounds, we have faced: Valencia, Zenit and Inter Milan.

There is a clear pattern here and it is the fact that we have been given extremely difficult draws in all competitions once we qualify from the group.

There is one simple explanation for this – we can never finish first.

When progressing as the second place team, in terms of hoping for a European run, you are shooting yourself in the foot from the off. You are getting thrown in the deep-end right away and coming up against the best teams in the competition. To progress, you need that bit of luck with the draw and the best way to do that is by making your own and finishing first.

This year, Celtic actually look like they have a reasonable chance of doing that.

Lazio have already dropped three points against Cluj, a side who we will be looking to take a further three points off of away from home. Rennes also look like a team that we can dominate once they do come to Celtic Park, following a brilliantly earned draw in France.

The next two fixtures against Lazio are very crucial though. To start the double header, we play at home which is very positive. This is arguably the most important match of our campaign because if we blow them out of the water and win that match – their confidence could easily take a beating and we may be able to take further points in Rome a few weeks later.

If we do that, the first place position is surely ours.

Then it just goes down to sheer luck of the draw. With all the other first-placed sides out of our reach for the last 32 though, we would certainly be missing some big guns until further down the line if we do progress. This not only gives an easier game to start with, but more time to prepare for the tougher teams in the competition.

The first leg of the last 32 is always in the February, only a month after the transfer window. This means that if any newcomers do arrive, they have very little time to integrate themselves into the squad. An extra few weeks before they would be needed for a world class team such as Arsenal, Sevilla or Manchester United would be terrific for not just them, but for the whole side as well.

However, this is all well and good talking about Europe, but there is a task at hand domestically as well. Rangers are now a side who believe they are good enough to prevent the Hoops from their phenomenal nine-in-a-row attempt and it will not be as easy to keep them quiet as it has been in recent years.

For a long and impressive European campaign, one of the best things for Celtic would be Rangers going far in it as well. If Rangers get knocked out after the group, they would be able to free up their whole schedule just to focus on winning the league. Obviously that is easier said than done, but when Celtic would be resting players to accommodate their progression in Europe; Rangers will be playing their strongest 11 week-in-week-out.

They would not suffer from the same fatigue as the Celts would and that could be costly. If the Hoops are able to tackle the problem of fatigue and are able to keep a strong squad for the league and also in Europe, there is no reason why Celtic couldn’t go far in this year’s tournament.

We now have a manager who is willing to switch up tactics, playing defensive and counter attacking football if it is needed. Lennon is obviously someone who relishes these matches and gets torn into the whole team, whether they are playing ok or terribly as well.

Lennon of course knows how to progress in the tournament himself as he did as a player back on the road to Seville. Not only that, this whole Celtic side are now experienced in European football and we are passed the stage of nervy play of not stringing two passes together.

It will be interesting to see how far this Celtic side can actually go this year. Hopefully we are in for an amazing year – it has been a long time since we have had one.