After three games of this season's new-look UEFA Champions League league-phase, Celtic sit 20th on four points.
Last night's (Wednesday) hard-fought and well-earned draw with Atalanta in Italy marked a great response for Brendan Rodgers following his side's 7-1 defeat in Dortmund earlier this month, with the Hoops' other points on the board a result of a 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava in September.
As per this year's new format, the league's top eight teams after eight games will automatically qualify for the competition's knockout round, while those placed ninth to 24th will enter a play-off for the next stage.
Those placed 24 or below face automatic elimination, with a parachute to the UEFA Europa League no longer available.
The league phase table is taking shape 🍿#UCL pic.twitter.com/pzWVMPhY7P
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 23, 2024
From here, Celtic are still to play RB Leipzig (H), Club Brugge (H), Dinamo Zagreb (A), Young Boys (H) and Aston Villa (A), and, as we learned last night, could qualify for the tournament's play-offs with just two more wins.
Here's how Celtic's five remaining UCL opponents fared this week:
RB Leipzig 0 – 1 Liverpool
AC Milan 3 – 1 Club Brugge RB Salzburg 0 – 2 Dinamo Zagreb
Young Boys 0 – 1 Inter MilanAston Villa 2 – 0 Bologna
Celtic's next Champions League encounter against RB Leipzig at home will take place on Tuesday, November 5 with an 8pm kick-off.
