Celtic Prepares for Europa League Clash Against Red Star Belgrade
Manager Brendan Rodgers is confident that Celtic has moved past their disappointment in the Champions League and is now focused on making a significant impact in the Europa League.
The Scottish champions were eliminated from Europe's premier club competition in the play-off round by Kazakh side Kairat Almaty. Their attention now turns to the opening match of the Europa League phase against Red Star Belgrade, who also faced elimination at the same stage of Champions League qualifying.
"I believe both clubs would have preferred to be in the Champions League, but after the initial disappointment, we are looking forward to this opportunity," Rodgers stated. "We cannot dwell on the past; we can only look ahead. It’s a prestigious competition, and we need to embrace it and see how far we can go."
Celtic has a history in this competition, having reached the final 22 years ago, where they lost 3-2 to Jose Mourinho's Porto. However, Rodgers refrained from speculating on how far his team could progress this time.
Following their match against Red Star, Celtic will host Roma, Sporting Braga, Sturm Graz, and Utrecht, while also visiting Feyenoord, Midtjylland, and Bologna.
"I haven’t looked too far ahead," Rodgers remarked when asked about the potential for a lengthy run in the Europa League. "I just know we are in a competition where we can perform well. Last season, we were competitive in the Champions League, and we believe that with our improvements, we can push ourselves to do well this time."
The Celtic players will have to walk through the intimidating, graffiti-covered Rajko Mitic tunnel from the away dressing room to the pitch, a notable feature of European football, accompanied by the roar of enthusiastic Red Star fans on matchdays.
"Just embrace it," Rodgers advised regarding the walk. "I’ve heard it takes about two minutes to get to the changing room, so I’ll need to speak a bit faster at halftime. There were significant lessons learned last year. Despite some losses, we had good performances that built our confidence. Last season demonstrated our capacity to learn and grow."
Rodgers consistently referenced last season's European performances, including their near miss against Bayern Munich in the Champions League Round of 16, which gives him confidence heading into this campaign. "This will be the first step. There’s no point in winning this match and not performing well in the others," he added. "Red Star is an experienced team with quality players. They have won all seven of their domestic matches, so they are in good form. It will be a challenging test for us, but we are ready to showcase our footballing quality."
What to Expect from Red Star
Red Star Belgrade has participated in the Champions League four times in the last seven seasons, but they faced an unexpected defeat to Cypriot side Pafos in this year's qualifying rounds. This setback was partly due to significant player sales during the summer, including the transfers of 18-year-olds Veljko Milosavljevic to Bournemouth and Andrija Maksimovic to RB Leipzig, which brought in over £40 million.
Despite these changes, they still possess talent that could pose a threat to Celtic, particularly veteran midfielder Aleksandar Katai, who has scored 12 goals in 13 games this season, following a 19-goal tally last year as they secured their eighth consecutive Serbian title. In their recent victory over local rivals Partizan Belgrade in the 'Eternal Derby,' Katai played in an attacking quartet alongside 17-year-old Vasilije Kostov, Montenegro international Mirko Ivanic, and former West Ham and Stoke striker Marko Arnautovic.
What They Said
Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren: "I’ve heard a lot about this place and its amazing atmosphere. That’s what you dream of as a kid—to play in front of such crowds. We play at Celtic Park in front of 60,000, so we understand what it’s like, and we’re looking forward to it."
Red Star Belgrade head coach Vladan Milojevic: "These are special games. Celtic is a strong, exceptional team with a great coach who has experience in the English Premier League. There is no favorite in football. On paper, you can write anything, but Celtic is a team built for participation in the Champions League. They are dominant and strong, making it an interesting match."
Match Stats
Red Star has met Celtic twice before, losing a last-16 tie 6-2 on aggregate in the European Cup in the 1968-69 season.
Celtic has lost two of six meetings with Serbian teams (including games as Yugoslavia), with three wins and one draw, and has not won any of their three away matches in that time.
Red Star has lost only two of their last 13 home games in the Europa League (winning eight and drawing three), with five victories in their last seven since September 2021.
This will be Celtic's first Europa League appearance since the 2021-22 season, having won three of their last four matches in the competition (with one loss).
Red Star goalkeeper Matheus ranks fifth in all-time starts in Europa League history (since 2009-10) with 59 appearances.