There might be a few Celtic fans rapidly deleting tweets about Rangers’ Europa League victory over RB Leipzig as the Parkhead club are sent crashing from the Champions League.
A raucous Ibrox famously cheered Rangers on to victory over the talent-strewn Bundesliga club only a matter of months ago to reach last season’s Europa League Final.
The 3-1 win at Ibrox overturned a 1-0 defeat on the road in Germany as the spirit of the recently passed Jimmy Bell inspired this Rangers squad to stand on the shoulders of giants.
But one set of supporters who never quite bought into just how big an achievement this was is our Old Firm rivals and their flippant coverage of the victory has come back to bite them this season.
RB Leipzig finished 4th in the Bundesliga last season and sit 11th at present but that didn’t stop them winning twice on the bounce against Celtic to knock the Glasgow side out of the elite-level competition.
RB Leipzig knock out Celtic after Rangers baiting
Their latest victory came at Celtic Park where a 2-0 win for RB Leipzig left Parkhead supporters bitterly disappointed but also scrambling to justify last season’s Rangers comments.
The result followed on from a 3-1 defeat in Germany and undoubtedly stands as a testament to the success of Rangers in Europe last season and the pragmatic, tactical prowess of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and his team.
In the process, it also made Celtic the first team in Champions League history to lose seven home games on the bounce.
This isn’t so much about boasting over them crashing out of what is a tough competition, especially given the fact Rangers are yet to find the back of the net in it this season, but perhaps the Gers were due a little more credit for getting past the German side last season.
Celtic’s Europa League status is also teetering with the Parkhead side needing results against Shakhtar Donetsk at home AND Real Madrid away to earn European football after Christmas.
Rangers remain in the hunt for a Europa League berth but the Ibrox club really need to get something against Liverpool and hope Napoli do the business v Ajax.
