Celtic will end a 10-year Champions League drought against Lazio.

Celtic will be looking to end a 10-year home Champions League win drought against Lazio, who were once fearsome opponents in European football.

Celtic, once feared as a European football fortress, will look to break a 10-year drought for a Champions League victory at home when Lazio visits Parkhead on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.

Brendan Rodgers lost no time in stating his desire to finally make a difference in the Champions League upon his return as Celtic manager.

CELTIC RECORD IN ADDITION TO CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Celtic are still unrivaled in domestic football, having won 11 of the last 12 Scottish Premiership titles and four domestic trebles in the last six seasons.

However, Rodgers was in command during his first stay at the club when the Hoops won a game in Europe’s top flight against Anderlecht in 2017.

Despite some strong performances, Celtic secured just two points from six games in their return to the Champions League last season under Ange Postecoglou after failing to qualify for the previous four seasons.

Rodgers’ reality was rendered bare in a 2-0 loss to Feyenoord two weeks ago.

After a promising start, the visitors were undone by red cards to new acquisitions Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm, who showed their inexperience on their Champions League debuts.

Celtic’s business model of acquiring young talent from throughout the world at little cost, developing it, and then selling it for a high profit has been extremely profitable for the club’s cash balance.

PREVIOUS SEASON FINANCIAL CONCERN

Last season’s financial statistics revealed a club record pre-tax profit of £40.7 million ($50 million) for the 2022/23 season, as well as £72 million in cash on hand.

Rodgers could be forgiven for wishing he had been given more substantial finances to enhance his squad during the transfer window, especially after suffering a series of injuries to key players early in the season.

It is early in the season.
“If you look at the club’s strategy, it’s signing younger players to develop and improve,” the Northern Irishman explained. “You need quality and experience, which will obviously help and support your potential.”

“So that’s something that hopefully, over the course of my time here, the squad can regenerate into that way.”

Rodgers is having to acclimate to life in the little pond of Scottish football after spending the majority of his managerial career in the Premier League.

However, he believes Celtic are capable of far more than they have demonstrated in recent European play.

The Scottish champions have yet to win a knockout match.

in any European competition since 2004, when local rivals Rangers reached the UEFA Cup and Europa League finals.

RODGERS WISHES TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN EUROPE.
“We want to see if we can make an impact in Europe,” Rodgers explained. “It’s always a challenge at the really highest level, but we want to go in there and see if we can progress and show our good side.”

Celtic are encouraged by Lazio’s problems, as is their recent success against the Italians. They defeated the Biancocelesti at home and away in the Europa League group stages four years ago.

Lazio arrived in Glasgow barely outside the Serie A relegation zone, having won only two of their first seven league games.

In their first Champions League encounter, they only managed a point at home against Atletico Madrid thanks to a miraculous stoppage-time equalizer by goalkeeper Ivan Provider.

Maurizio Sarri’s players appear to be there for the taking, but Celtic must rise to the Champions League challenge for the first time in a long time.