Celtic’s home defeat by RB Salzburg in December 2018 was shrugged off, comprehensive though it was for anybody who watched. Brendan Rodgers had guided Celtic to the knockout phase of the Europa League, offsetting part of the chaos created by a Champions League qualifying exit at the hands of AEK Athens. The riches associated with the Red Bull model meant that the prominence of Salzburg, who won six group matches out of six, could be placed in fiscal context. Celtic beat another of the RB clan, Leipzig, to second place.
This was a decent Celtic side. Kieran Tierney’s development was moving apace. Mikael Lustig, Callum McGregor, Scott Sinclair, Scott Brown, Tom Rogic, Ryan Christie and Odsonne Édouard featured. “This is another big step in the progress of our players,” said Rodgers. Eight weeks later, Valencia’s 2-0 win in Glasgow effectively ended the last-32 tie after 90 minutes. “We made too many mistakes,” said Rodgers. “You can get away with it domestically sometimes but at this level if you bring pressure on to yourself, it is difficult for you. We made basic mistakes.”
