After a five-year absence, the Champions League returned to Scottish football in midweek, and it did so in spectacular fashion.
Celtic’s meeting with Real Madrid was one of those ‘I was there’ moments, and I felt privileged to be among the near 60,000 crowd to watch the reigning holders get the defence of their crown up and running.
As an occasion, it could hardly have been bettered.
The atmosphere crackled with excitement and anticipation, the noise levels were off the decibel scale, and as the fans belted out ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, all the foreign journalists and broadcasters – professionals who have covered all the big moments over the years – had their phones out to record the moment for posterity.
It truly was a stunning and memorable start to the evening, and when the game kicked-off, Celtic immediately had Real on the back foot, and might have opened up a two or three goal advantage in the opening half hour.
I have watched them lose heavily in the Champions League, and other European competitions, many times over the years. I have seen them go down with barely a whimper.
That was not the case on Tuesday, they went toe-to-toe with Carlo Ancelotti’s side for a chunk of the match, only dropping away when Real’s quality shone through, and the Spaniards showed why they are serial winners.
If it goes ahead, next week will be pivotal to Celtic’s hopes. Shakhtar’s impressive win in Leipzig was an eye-opener; avoiding defeat in Warsaw will be key to Ange Postecoglou’s dream of reaching the knockout stages.
Rangers returned to the biggest arena in club football on Wednesday night, but unlike their city rivals, they never laid a glove on the opposition, and were torn apart by an impressive Ajax team in Amsterdam.
For the second successive match, the Ibrox side put in an embarrassingly incompetent performance, and a group which always looked tough has become even more daunting, particularly in the wake of much of what we saw from Napoli against Liverpool, and their humbling of the Anfield side.
Rangers did not help themselves with some shocking defending.
There was some excellent finishing from Ajax, but all four goals could, perhaps should, have been prevented, and there was justified questioning of Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s selection and set-up.
Had the Dutch not coasted for a large part of the second half, we might have been looking at another seven goal defeat, as happened over there to Dundee United against AZ.
Rangers are going to have to bounce back very quickly if they’re to have any chance of remaining alive in the competition.
Whatever happens over the next couple of months, we are guaranteed a run of high-profile nights featuring the best that Europe has to offer.
Aside from the glamour, it will be a financial bonanza for the two Glasgow clubs.
That has been highlighted as a negative by some observers, but the pair are so far ahead of the rest of the clubs in Scotland, the additional cash they amass will have no effect on the domestic game.
They will finish first or second every season whether or not they are in the Champions League.
