Gordon Strachan names Celtic Champions League key fixture to progression as he draws Scotland parallel

Gordon Strachan believes the key to Celtic getting out of Champions League Group E is to pinch something from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.

The Hoops kick of their European campaign with a match against top seeds Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Tuesday night but it’s Diego Simeone’s men that Strachan reckons are the crucial opponents in the group, with Brendan Rodgers facing back-to-back games against the La Liga outfit in the middle of the group stage.

Italian giants Lazio make up the quartet but Strachan pointed to Scotland’s Euro 2024 campaign, where Steve Clarke’s men stunned Spain to record a win on home soil, as a comparison to the challenge facing Celtic. Strachan led the Hoops to last-16 qualification twin during his time at the Parkhead helm and told Gambling Zone: “What Celtic need to do to give themselves a chance in the Champions League is to somehow pick up that big result against Atletico Madrid because they are probably the best side in the group.

"In many ways, it’s a little bit like Scotland; we got the big result against Spain in the European qualifiers. To get through these group stages, you need to get a big result against one of the biggest teams and, if it is the best team, then you’re giving yourself a brilliant chance of being in the draw for the last 16."

Strachan backed his former club to give account of themselves in Europe and cited the need for Celtic to get players back off the treatment table and into the squad. He said: “It is going to be a tough test. They will need all of their best players back, fit, and available – I do think that with Celtic’s best XI they can give each of these teams a game. There isn’t a team in the group like Manchester City, Real Madrid or even Arsenal. Atletico