Scotland in Europe - Lennart’s elves unwrap some corkers

In between preparations for Sunday lunchtime, the Old Firm have managed to squeeze in some important overseas business. Ronjers managed a functional 1-0 win over Belgrade last night thanks to Alan Hutton’s second-half header.

The result had no bearing on today’s events in Nyon, where three lucky Uefa suits got to open their Christmas presents early (was I the only one who noticed saw dollar signs appear behind their spectacles when Barcelona-Liverpool came out?) in the draws for the Uefa Cup and Champions League. The Light Blues are drawn against Hapoel Tel-Aviv and will fancy their chances after seeing off Maccabi Haifa. More intriguing is the set-up for the following round, where a win would see them take on either La Liga side Osasuna or another of PLG’s old sparring partners, Bordeaux. This being Rangers of 2006-7 though, no-one is taking anything for granted.

But even Sunday’s match appears a bit feeble compared to the visit of an intrepid band of men to Celtic Park next March - otherwise known as Associazione Calcio Milan. Milan’s reputation obviously precedes them, but the Hoops have at least two reasons for optimism: Milan’s current 15th place in Serie A (without this season’s 15-point deduction they’d be a distant fourth); and the cauldron that is Celtic Park on a European night. Nonetheless, with that unfortunate away record still hanging over them, one suspects they’ll need more than a single-goal victory on the 20th of February.

Category: Scottish Premier League

Tags: Alan Hutton, Celtic, Champions League, Paul Le Guen, Rangers, Scotland Premier League, Uefa Cup

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