It’s no secret that Celtic fans are among the loudest, most passionate in Europe.
This is particularly true in European competition and you could argue that the Hoops missed their Parkhead support during their Europa League campaign this season.
Neil Lennon’s side only won one of their six group games – a 3-2 home victory against Lille – and slumped to disappointing defeats by Sparta Prague and AC Milan.
The Italian giants beat Celtic 3-1 in Glasgow back on October 22.
But club legend Paolo Maldini, who has experienced a packed-out Parkhead on three occasions, told Sky Sport Italia that Milan had a huge advantage on that occasion by virtue of the fact that the Bhoys’ support were not permitted to attend due to the global health crisis.
He said: “It’s a less emotional and exciting kind of football [without the fans].
“In Glasgow we played without fans and it was an advantage for us, but I told the lads it was a shame for them to play at Celtic Park without that extraordinary support.”
This could and still may be a landmark season for Celtic, having started the campaign with nine successive Premiership titles and going for 10-in-a-row.
And although Lennon’s side just haven’t been at the races across several competitions, it does look like the lack of support has affected them domestically too, not just in Europe.
So far, Celtic are 19 points behind Rangers at the top of the Premiership and although the Hoops have three games in hand, they would much rather have the points.
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