Opening a New Chapter on Opening Night

This week is all about Celtic. Well, at least from a Scottish perspective. On Sunday we’ll focus on the women’s ongoing quest to reach the Champions League group stage, but today it’s the men who are already there having qualified automatically as Scottish champions.

The latest revamp of the UEFA competitions included the decision to have a week dedicated to each of the three of them, and unsurprisingly the first of those start off with their premier competition.

In case you’re wondering, next week is the Europa League’s focus (although due to Celtic’s women playing their second leg on the same day it won’t all be about Rangers), whilst the Conference League doesn’t get it’s dedicated week until December, so it’ll be nearly Christmas before Hearts get their dedicated week.

Celtic start their newly expanded league section campaign of the Champions League with a home game against Slovan Bratislava. As opening fixtures go, this is as easy as Celtic could expect given its their home game against a pot 4 opponent. Any other game would be a team from a higher pot or an away game or both. So if Celtic truly want to do anything in Europe this season, this is a game they have to win.

But that would mean doing something they’ve never done before: winning their opening Champions League group match.

Between their first group stage match in 2001 and their most recent appearance last season, Celtic have played in twelve Champions League group stage campaigns. The first campaign saw them lose the opening game 3-2 away to Juventus in contentious circumstances with a very dodgy penalty for the home side after Celtic had come from two goals down to level the game.

Actually, that trip shouldn’t even have been the opening match. Celtic should have opened with a home game against Rosenborg, but the events in America in September 2001 saw that game moved to later – a game Celtic would ultimately win 1-0.

The other opening fixtures have seen a 2-1 defeat away to Bayern Munich in 2003, a 3-1 home defeat courtesy of Henrik Larsson’s Barcelona in 2004, a 3-2 defeat away to Manchester United in 2006, a 2-0 defeat away to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2007, a 0-0 draw at home with Aalborg in 2008, another 0-0 draw at home with Benfica in 2012, a 2-0 defeat away to Milan in 2013, a 7-0 thrashing away to Barcelona in 2016, a 5-0 thrashing at home by Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, a 3-0 defeat at home to Real Madrid in 2022 and the most recent 2-0 defeat away to Feyenoord in 2023.

Ten defeats, two draws in all, and both of those draws were at home and goalless. Celtic haven’t even scored on their opening night in the Champions League group stage since Shunsuke Nakamura’s free kick at Old Trafford eighteen years ago. That goal had brought Celtic level at 2-2 following Jan Vennegoor of Hesslink’s opener, another stinker of a penalty decision letting Luis Saha level the game before Saha then put United in front. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ultimately scoring the winner on the night.

Indeed, Celtic’s Champions League home record is pretty poor in general these days. All the more staggering when you consider that they had only lost one of their first twenty one group stage home games: the aforementioned Henrik Larsson inspired Barcelona victory in 2004. Chris Sutton had levelled the game after Deco’s opener as well as David Marshall saving a Ronaldinho penalty, but Larsson came off the bench to set up Ludovig Giuly to put Barcelona back in front before reading an Alan Thompson header back to the keeper and scoring the third himself. Ouch.

That remarkable record across seven separate campaigns ran until their eighth in 2013, when both Barcelona and Milan won at Celtic Park, with Celtic beating 2-1 Ajax in the other game. That Ajax game was, until last season, Celtic’s last home win in the competition. The 2-1 victory over Feyenoord last year put an end to that particularly bad run, although it was a dead rubber for Celtic as they were already out and couldn’t even finish third by that point. Luis Palma with the opening penalty, Minteh with a late equaliser, but Gustav Lagerbielke got an even later winner to finally end the winless streak.

Oh, and of course, Slovan Bratislava are Slovakian, and Celtic have faced opposition from there twice before. The good news is that Celtic don’t have to go to Slovakia, because the last time Celtic were there was another humiliating result. The 5-0 hammering by Artmedia Bratislava almost led to one of the greatest comebacks in UEFA history though. Celtic won the second leg 4-0, an Alan Thompson penalty and goals from John Hartson, Stephen McManus and Craig Beattie just not quite managing to undo the mess made in the first leg.

The other time Celtic hosted a Slovakia side was in the 1996/97 UEFA Cup qualifying round when Kosice lost 1-0 on aggregate, Jorge Cadete’s late winner at home in the second leg being just enough to see Celtic scrape through to the first round.

Now… there is a huge caveat to that particular stat because Celtic have actually faced Slovan Bratislava before. Back in the 1963/64 season, the two teams met in the Cup Winners’ Cup quarter final. That’s because Slovan Bratislava had won the Czechoslovak Cup the previous season, which a few years later became a playoff between the winners of the Czech Cup and the Slovak Cup and ultimately stopped being anything the Czechoslovakia split up in the 1990s.

Celtic won both legs of the tie 1-0, Bobby Murdoch from the penalty spot at Celtic Park in the first leg and John Hughes with a goal over in Bratislava in the second leg. Here’s Pathe with the home leg.

That defeat didn’t set Slovan Bratislava back too much. In 1968/69 they would go on and win the Cup Winners’ Cup, beating Barcelona 3-2 in the final. Worth noting because the team they beat 2-1 on aggregate in the semi final that season was Dunfermline Athletic. Jim Fraser had put the Pars ahead in the tie in the first leg at East End Park, but an equaliser that night and a winner in the second leg from Jan Capkovic was the difference in the end. Capkovic was also the scored of the vital third goal against Barcelona in the final.

And that was the last time Slovan Bratislava faced a Scottish side prior to tonight!

Slovan Bratislava are currently top of the Slovak Super Liga on fifteen points, a point clear of second place MSK Zillina after six games. On Saturday they won 2-1 away to Dunajska Strada, and host Ruzomberok this coming Saturday.

Celtic are currently top of the Scottish Premiership with a 100% record, ahead of second place Aberdeen on goal difference after five games. On Saturday they beat Hearts 2-0 at home, and host Falkirk in the League Cup quarter final on Sunday.

Good luck to Celtic tonight!