What were Celtic up to exactly three years ago to the day?
Three years ago today, Celtic came from 2-0 down to earn a vital draw against Roberto Mancini’s Inter Milan in the Europa League round of 32 first leg at Celtic Park.
The game marked arguably one of Ronny Deila’s finest achievements in European competition for the Hoops, having failed to qualify for the Champions League in both of his seasons as Parkhead boss.
With last Thursday’s victory over Zenit St Petersburg, also managed by Mancini, in mind, at the exact same stage as the Inter Milan match three years ago, there is clear evidence of progression in terms of success in Europe under current manager Brendan Rodgers.
Ronny’s roller-coaster ride
The 3-3 draw with Inter three years ago today was quite the up and down affair for the Hoops. After just 13 minutes, Deila’s men found themselves 2-0 down following goals from Xherdan Shaqiri and Rodrigo Palacio, and looked very much down and out.
The Celts managed to claw back a goal via Stuart Armstrong in the 24th minute, only to find themselves tied just one minute later after an own goal from Hugo Campagnaro.
Having earned back a level playing field, Palacio fired his team ahead once again just before the break to top off a dominant display from the travelling Serie A giants.
With the game looking to end as an Inter victory, Manchester City loanee John Guidetti bagged a dramatic 93rd minute equaliser to send Celtic Park into a frenzy, re-establishing his side a slim chance of progression in the second leg.
The 3-3 draw with Inter three years ago was quite the spectacle for the neutral fan, however, is simply not comparable to the heroic performance of last Thursday night.
First and foremost, Celtic find themselves in the Europa League knock-out stages this season having finished third in their Champions League group. Three season ago, they had simply progressed from a relatively easy Europa League group, having failed to qualify for the Champions League.
This season, they take a 1-0 lead to Russia next week and have a real chance to progress to the round of 16, whilst with three away goal, Inter’s prospects of progressing looked much stronger as they headed back to Milan to host the Celts at the San Siro.
This sort of comparison is simply testament to the brilliant work put in by Rodgers and his coaching staff to develop the Hoops into a team that can not only hold their own in Europe but also command victories against high calibre opponents.
Interestingly, only one player in Scott Brown remained a constant when it came to the starting XI in both the Inter and Zenit ties.
This in itself says a lot for the progression of the team and the Celts will be hoping to build on their wonderful Thursday night performance with at least a draw in Russia to seal their spot in the next round of this season’s Europa League.
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