2017–18 Celtic F.C. season

The 2017–18 season was the 129th season of competitive football by Celtic. They competed in the Scottish Premiership, League Cup, Scottish Cup, Champions League and Europa League. Celtic won all three domestic tournaments, completing a double treble.

ChairmanIan Bankier

ManagerBrendan Rodgers

StadiumCeltic Park

Scottish Premiership1st

Quick facts season, Chairman ...

Celtic F.C.

2017–18 season

Chairman

Manager

Stadium

1st

Winners

Winners

Top goalscorer

League: Scott Sinclair (10)
All: Scott Sinclair (18)

Highest home attendance

59,259
Celtic 2–2 Hibernian
(30 September 2017)

Lowest home attendance

53,883
Celtic 3–1 Hamilton Academical
(13 December 2017)

Average home league attendance

57,562

Home colours

Away colours

Third colours

← 2016–17

2018–19 →

Close

Background

The previous season saw Celtic win the domestic treble, remaining undefeated domestically, recording only four draws in the Scottish Premiership. The squad reported back for pre-season training on 19 June, following a short break after the Scottish Cup Final on 27 May.^[1] Celtic assistant manager Chris Davies commented:

"It's a little bit different in England where you can have six or seven, or sometimes even eight weeks away. Some players have had the three weeks' rest after the cup final while others have had 10 days and some possibly even less. So we've managed that in terms of physical conditioning to make sure that they are in the best place possible. But we have noticed straight away that they've come back in really good condition and that is linked to not having such a long break. So we're happy with that, they are nice and fresh and have great enthusiasm and energy for the new season, so that's all good."^[2]

On 2 July 2017, Celtic announced that Scott Brown would receive a testimonial for ten years of service to the club.^[3]

Pre-season and friendlies

Celtic preceded the 2017–18 campaign with a pre-season tour of Austria, with matches against Blau-Weiß Linz and Rapid Wien.^[4] The Hoops then travelled to the Czech Republic to face Slavia Prague,^[5] which was followed by a trip to Ireland to play Shamrock Rovers.^[6] The pre-season schedule also included games against Lyon^[7] and Sunderland.^[8] Celtic recorded their first pre-season victory against Blau-Weiß Linz. Brendan Rodgers fielded a different team in each half, with a cameo appearance from his son, Anton, during the second period.^[9] The match played out in typical pre-season fashion, until James Forrest scored a late winner.^[10] Celtic's next opponents – Rapid Vienna of the Austrian Bundesliga – marked a step up in quality. Rapid took the lead on the stroke of half time, but this was later cancelled out by a Moussa Dembélé penalty, which earned Celtic a 1–1 draw. Following the match, Brendan Rodgers expressed his dissatisfaction with the first half performance, but praised the second half display and the progress made so far in pre-season.^[11] Celtic continued their preparations for the new season with a game against Slavia Prague. The match ended goalless, with Dedryck Boyata forced off through injury at the end of the first half. The Celtic manager was pleased with his team's efforts, commenting that the Czech champions provided an excellent test in the build-up to the UEFA Champions League qualifiers.^[12] Shamrock Rovers provided the opposition in Celtic's final match before the competitive action resumed. The Bhoys strolled to a 9–0 victory, with seven players on the scoresheet, including a first goal for Jonny Hayes. Brendan Rodgers was again delighted with the level of performance produced by his players.^[13] The day after Celtic's first European qualifier, a much-changed side was soundly beaten 4–0 by Lyon of Ligue 1. Celtic finished the match with nine academy players on the pitch.^[14] The Hoops rounded off pre-season with a game against Sunderland, recently relegated from the Premier League. As both clubs share Dafabet as their main sponsor, a one-off trophy was on offer for the winner. Celtic comfortably defeated the Championship side 5–0, with Callum McGregor scoring a hat-trick. Brendan Rodgers praised the large travelling support of 9,000 and commented that the result would boost confidence in the squad ahead of the next European qualifier.^[15]

28 June 2017 Friendly	Blau-Weiß Linz	0–1	Celtic	Rohrbach, Austria
		Celtic Report	Forrest 84'	Stadium: Sportanlage Rohrbach-Berg Referee: Stefan Ebner (Austria)

1 July 2017 Friendly	Rapid Wien	1–1	Celtic	Amstetten, Austria
	Joelinton 45' (pen.)	Celtic Report	Dembélé 73' (pen.)	Stadium: Ertl Glas Stadion Referee: Markus Hameter (Austria)

4 July 2017 Friendly	Slavia Prague	0–0	Celtic	Prague, Czech Republic
		Celtic Report		Stadium: Eden Arena Attendance: 10,231^[16] Referee: Karel Hrubeš (Czech Republic)

8 July 2017 Friendly	Shamrock Rovers	0–9	Celtic	Tallaght, Ireland
		Celtic Report	Lustig 10' Armstrong 23', 69' Dembélé 28' Sinclair 41', 66' Forrest 61' Hayes 81' Rogic 86'	Stadium: Tallaght Stadium

15 July 2017 Friendly	Celtic	0–4	Lyon	Glasgow
		Celtic Report	Cornet 52' Maolida 61' Fekir 78' Gouiri 87'	Stadium: Celtic Park Referee: Bobby Madden (Scotland)

29 July 2017 Dafabet Cup	Sunderland	0–5	Celtic	Sunderland, England
		Celtic Report	McGregor 5', 15', 58' (pen.) Hayes 38' Armstrong 70'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Referee: Tony Harrington (England)

Scottish Premiership

The Scottish Premiership fixture list was announced on 23 June 2017.^[17] Celtic began the defence of their title with a 4–1 victory against Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park.^[18] On 4 November, Celtic broke their own British record for the number of games without defeat in all domestic competitions, a record set by Willie Maley's team that stood for 100 years.^[19] However, the unbeaten run ended at 69 games, following a 4–0 defeat to Heart of Midlothian at Tynecastle Park on 17 December.^[20] On 29 April 2018, Celtic won their seventh consecutive title and 49th overall after a 5–0 win against Rangers.^[21]

5 August 2017 Matchday 1	Celtic	4–1	Heart of Midlothian	Glasgow
	Griffiths 29', 63' Sinclair 51' McGregor 73'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Gonçalves 84'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,843 Referee: Kevin Clancy

11 August 2017 Matchday 2	Partick Thistle	0–1	Celtic	Glasgow
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Ntcham 25'	Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 8,041 Referee: Andrew Dallas

19 August 2017 Matchday 3	Kilmarnock	0–2	Celtic	Kilmarnock
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Forrest 40' McGregor 88'	Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 10,069 Referee: Nick Walsh

26 August 2017 Matchday 4	Celtic	1–1	St Johnstone	Glasgow
	McGregor 79'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	MacLean 39'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,446 Referee: Willie Collum

8 September 2017 Matchday 5	Hamilton Academical	1–4	Celtic	Hamilton
	Gogić 86'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Armstrong 17' Sinclair 29', 42' Édouard 65'	Stadium: New Douglas Park Attendance: 5,208 Referee: Don Robertson

16 September 2017 Matchday 6	Celtic	4–0	Ross County	Glasgow
	Rogic 13' Dembélé 42' Forrest 52', 74'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,624 Referee: Steven McLean

23 September 2017 Matchday 7	Rangers	0–2	Celtic	Glasgow
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Rogic 50' Griffiths 65'	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 50,116 Referee: Craig Thomson

30 September 2017 Matchday 8	Celtic	2–2	Hibernian	Glasgow
	McGregor 15', 80'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	McGinn 53', 77'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 59,259 Referee: Willie Collum

14 October 2017 Matchday 9	Celtic	1–0	Dundee	Glasgow
	Ntcham 61'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 57,610 Referee: Andrew Dallas

25 October 2017 Matchday 11	Aberdeen	0–3	Celtic	Aberdeen
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Tierney 13' Dembélé 39', 63'	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 20,528 Referee: Craig Thomson

28 October 2017 Matchday 12	Celtic	1–1	Kilmarnock	Glasgow
	Griffiths 43'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Jones 60'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,060 Referee: Nick Walsh

4 November 2017 Matchday 13	St Johnstone	0–4	Celtic	Perth
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Sinclair 28' Dembélé 72' Anderson 75' (o.g.) Ntcham 89'	Stadium: McDiarmid Park Attendance: 6,800 Referee: Bobby Madden

18 November 2017 Matchday 14	Ross County	0–1	Celtic	Dingwall
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Griffiths 78'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 6,590 Referee: Nick Walsh

29 November 2017 Matchday 10	Motherwell	1–1	Celtic	Motherwell
	Lustig 78' (o.g.)	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Sinclair 88' (pen.)	Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 9,164 Referee: Willie Collum

2 December 2017 Matchday 16	Celtic	5–1	Motherwell	Glasgow
	Édouard 16', 33', 85' Forrest 76', 88'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Frear 65'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 57,817 Referee: Kevin Clancy

10 December 2017 Matchday 17	Hibernian	2–2	Celtic	Edinburgh
	Ambrose 76' Shaw 79'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Sinclair 59', 64'	Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 20,193 Referee: John Beaton

13 December 2017 Matchday 18	Celtic	3–1	Hamilton Academical	Glasgow
	Ntcham 12' Forrest 40' Sinclair 41'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Redmond 29'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 53,883 Referee: Stephen Finnie

17 December 2017 Matchday 19	Heart of Midlothian	4–0	Celtic	Edinburgh
	Cochrane 26' Lafferty 35' Milinković 48', 76' (pen.)	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Tynecastle Park Attendance: 18,555 Referee: Willie Collum

20 December 2017 Matchday 15	Celtic	2–0	Partick Thistle	Glasgow
	Armstrong 35' Tierney 67'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 54,187 Referee: Alan Muir

23 December 2017 Matchday 20	Celtic	3–0	Aberdeen	Glasgow
	Lustig 40' Hayes 69' Ntcham 76'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,975 Referee: Craig Thomson

26 December 2017 Matchday 21	Dundee	0–2	Celtic	Dundee
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Forrest 8' Griffiths 43'	Stadium: Dens Park Attendance: 9,193 Referee: Kevin Clancy

30 December 2017 Matchday 22	Celtic	0–0	Rangers	Glasgow
		BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 59,004 Referee: Bobby Madden

23 January 2018 Matchday 23	Partick Thistle	1–2	Celtic	Glasgow
	Sammon 34' (pen.)	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Sinclair 55' (pen.) Griffiths 70'	Stadium: Firhill Stadium Attendance: 6,920 Referee: John Beaton

27 January 2018 Matchday 24	Celtic	1–0	Hibernian	Glasgow
	Griffiths 27'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,998 Referee: Bobby Madden

30 January 2018 Matchday 25	Celtic	3–1	Heart of Midlothian	Glasgow
	Édouard 3' Boyata 25' Dembélé 36'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Lafferty 67'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 56,296 Referee: Craig Thomson

3 February 2018 Matchday 26	Kilmarnock	1–0	Celtic	Kilmarnock
	Mulumbu 70'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 10,702 Referee: Kevin Clancy

18 February 2018 Matchday 27	Celtic	0–0	St Johnstone	Glasgow
		BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 56,867 Referee: John Beaton

25 February 2018 Matchday 28	Aberdeen	0–2	Celtic	Aberdeen
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Dembélé 37' Tierney 83'	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 17,206 Referee: Bobby Madden

11 March 2018 Matchday 30	Rangers	2–3	Celtic	Glasgow
	Windass 3' Candeias 26'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Rogic 11' Dembélé 45+1' Édouard 69'	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 50,215 Referee: Willie Collum

18 March 2018 Matchday 31	Motherwell	0–0	Celtic	Motherwell
		BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Fir Park Attendance: 8,717 Referee: Craig Thomson

31 March 2018 Matchday 32	Celtic	3–0	Ross County	Glasgow
	Dembélé 25' (pen.) Armstrong 48' Rogic 60'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,765 Referee: Steven McLean

4 April 2018 Matchday 29	Celtic	0–0	Dundee	Glasgow
		BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 55,768 Referee: Alan Muir

8 April 2018 Matchday 33	Hamilton Academical	1–2	Celtic	Hamilton
	Bingham 18'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	McGregor 3' Griffiths 46'	Stadium: New Douglas Park Attendance: 4,851 Referee: Andrew Dallas

21 April 2018 Matchday 34	Hibernian	2–1	Celtic	Edinburgh
	Maclaren 24' Slivka 80'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Édouard 87'	Stadium: Easter Road Attendance: 19,886 Referee: Steven McLean

29 April 2018 Matchday 35	Celtic	5–0	Rangers	Glasgow
	Édouard 14', 41' Forrest 45' Rogic 47' McGregor 53'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,320 Referee: Craig Thomson

6 May 2018 Matchday 36	Heart of Midlothian	1–3	Celtic	Edinburgh
	Lafferty 18'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Boyata 21' Dembélé 51' Sinclair 90+4'	Stadium: Tynecastle Park Attendance: 19,031 Referee: Bobby Madden

9 May 2018 Matchday 37	Celtic	0–0	Kilmarnock	Glasgow
		BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 54,916 Referee: John Beaton

13 May 2018 Matchday 38	Celtic	0–1	Aberdeen	Glasgow
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Considine 47'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 59,048 Referee: Craig Thomson

Scottish League Cup

On 30 July, Celtic were drawn to face Kilmarnock at Celtic Park in the second round of the 2017–18 Scottish League Cup.^[22] Captained by Kieran Tierney for the first time, in the absence of the suspended Scott Brown, Celtic won 5–0 to secure a berth in the quarter-finals.^[23] On 9 August, Celtic were drawn to face Dundee at Dens Park in the quarter-finals.^[24] The Bhoys continued their defence of the trophy, running out 4–0 winners with a double from James Forrest and goals from Scott Sinclair and Callum McGregor securing a return to Hampden Park for the semi-finals.^[25] On 21 September, Celtic were drawn to face Hibernian in the semi-finals.^[26] A keenly fought contest ended in a 4–2 victory for Celtic with Mikael Lustig and Moussa Dembélé both netting twice to seal Celtic's place in the final. On 26 November, Celtic retained the Scottish League Cup by defeating Motherwell 2–0. This was the 17th League Cup triumph in the club's history and the fourth trophy of Brendan Rodgers' reign.^[27]

8 August 2017 Second round	Celtic	5–0	Kilmarnock	Glasgow
	Griffiths 14' (pen.), 29' Ralston 21' Tierney 65' Armstrong 71'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 27,407 Referee: Alan Muir

20 September 2017 Quarter-finals	Dundee	0–4	Celtic	Dundee
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Sinclair 25' (pen.) Forrest 42', 90+1' McGregor 88'	Stadium: Dens Park Attendance: 6,917 Referee: John Beaton

21 October 2017 Semi-finals	Hibernian	2–4	Celtic	Glasgow
	Stokes 59' (pen.) Shaw 70'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Lustig 15', 42' Dembélé 66', 88'	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 39,813 Referee: Kevin Clancy

26 November 2017 Final	Motherwell	0–2	Celtic	Glasgow
		BBC Sport Celtic Report	Forrest 49' Dembélé 60' (pen.)	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 49,483 Referee: Craig Thomson

Scottish Cup

On 20 November, Celtic were drawn to face Brechin City at Celtic Park in the fourth round of the 2017–18 Scottish Cup.^[28] Goals from James Forrest, Scott Sinclair, Olivier Ntcham, Dedryck Boyata and Odsonne Édouard secured a 5–0 victory for the cup holders.^[29] On 21 January 2018, Celtic were drawn to face Partick Thistle in the fifth round.^[30] A James Forrest hat-trick sealed a 3–2 win and Celtic's place in the quarter-finals for the fourth consecutive season.^[31] On 11 February, Celtic were drawn to face Greenock Morton in the quarter-finals.^[32] Goals from Moussa Dembélé and Odsonne Édouard secured a place in the semi-finals and a return to Hampden.^[33] On 4 March, Celtic were drawn to face Rangers in the semi-finals.^[34] The Bhoys sealed their place in the final with Tom Rogic, Callum McGregor, Moussa Dembélé and Olivier Ntcham all on the scoresheet.^[35] Celtic beat Motherwell 2–0 in the final on 19 May 2018, with goals from Callum McGregor and Olivier Ntcham ensuring Celtic's defence of the trophy.

20 January 2018 Fourth round	Celtic	5–0	Brechin City	Glasgow
	Forrest 2' Sinclair 11' Ntcham 49' Boyata 56' Édouard 86'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 24,879 Referee: Steven McLean

10 February 2018 Fifth round	Celtic	3–2	Partick Thistle	Glasgow
	Forrest 3', 10', 54'	BBC Sport Celtic Report	Doolan 20' Sammon 84'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 24,191 Referee: Steven McLean

3 March 2018 Quarter-finals	Celtic	3–0	Greenock Morton	Glasgow
	Dembélé 62', 71' (pen.) Édouard 90'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 18,255 Referee: John Beaton

15 April 2018 Semi-finals	Celtic	4–0	Rangers	Glasgow
	Rogic 22' McGregor 38' Dembélé 52' (pen.) Ntcham 78' (pen.)	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 49,729 Referee: Bobby Madden

19 May 2018 Final	Celtic	2–0	Motherwell	Glasgow
	McGregor 11' Ntcham 25'	BBC Sport Celtic Report		Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 49,967 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Europe

UEFA Champions League

Second qualifying round

On 19 June, Celtic were drawn to face Linfield (Northern Ireland) or La Fiorita (San Marino) in the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League.^[36] On 4 July, it was determined that Linfield would be Celtic's opponents, having defeated La Fiorita 1–0 on aggregate. The first leg took place at Windsor Park on 14 July, two days after The Twelfth. Celtic refused its ticket allocation due to concerns for supporter safety.^[37] Linfield later reiterated this, announcing that Celtic supporters would not be allowed to purchase tickets for the match.^[38] However, on the day of the match, the Northern Irish champions announced that away fans who had purchased tickets for the home end would be given their own section in the stadium.^[39] Celtic recorded a 2–0 victory in the first leg. The match did not pass without incident, as several objects were thrown towards Celtic players during the second half. Leigh Griffiths was controversially booked for simply drawing this to the referee's attention.^[40] Griffiths was later suspended by UEFA for one match, for tying a scarf to the goalpost after the game, which was deemed to have provoked a section of the home crowd.^[41] Celtic won 4–0 in the second leg, securing a place in the next round and a tie against Rosenborg.^[41] The club was again charged by UEFA for several offences, including illicit banners being displayed by the Green Brigade section of the home support.^[42] Celtic subsequently condemned the banners and suspended the group for the next two matches at Celtic Park.^[43]

14 July 2017 1st leg	Linfield	0–2	Celtic	Belfast, Northern Ireland
		Report	Haughey 17' (o.g.) Rogic 23'	Stadium: Windsor Park Referee: Alejandro Hernandez (Spain)

19 July 2017 2nd leg	Celtic	4–0 (6–0 agg.)	Linfield	Glasgow
	Sinclair 4', 54' Rogic 48' Armstrong 90+3'	Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,075 Referee: Stephan Klossner (Switzerland)

Third qualifying round

On 19 July, it was determined that Celtic would face Rosenborg (Norway) in the Third Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League.^[44] The Norwegian champions overcame Dundalk to set up their first meeting with the Scottish champions since the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League group stage. In October 2001, an Alan Thompson free-kick secured a 1–0 victory for Celtic in Glasgow. Later that month, Martin O'Neill's team succumbed to a 2–0 defeat in Trondheim, with former Celtic player Harald Brattbakk scoring both goals. Brendan Rodgers' side were forced to play without a recognised striker in the first leg, which finished goalless. Injuries to Moussa Dembélé and Leigh Griffiths – the latter was also suspended – meant that Tom Rogic was tasked with deputising in a False 9 role. The return leg saw James Forrest start in the same position and score the deciding goal to seal Celtic's place in the next round. The result secured European football for the club until the end of the year.

26 July 2017 1st leg	Celtic	0–0	Rosenborg	Glasgow
		Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 49,172 Referee: Tiago Martins (Portugal)

2 August 2017 2nd leg	Rosenborg	0–1 (0–1 agg.)	Celtic	Trondheim, Norway
		Report	Forrest 69'	Stadium: Lerkendal Stadion Referee: Jonathan Lardot (Belgium)

Play-off round

On 4 August, Celtic were drawn to face Astana (Kazakhstan) in the Play-Off Round of the UEFA Champions League.^[45] The sides met one round earlier in the previous season's competition, with the Scottish champions recording a 3–2 victory on aggregate. Celtic cruised to a 5–0 victory in the first leg, with two own goals bookending a double from Scott Sinclair and a goal from James Forrest. Nir Bitton deputised at centre half – injuries ruled Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko out of the tie – and was singled out for praise by Brendan Rodgers in the aftermath.^[46] The second leg saw Celtic record their first loss in all competitions since November 2016, when they were defeated by Barcelona at Celtic Park. Although the Hoops lost 4–3 on the night, goals from Scott Sinclair, Olivier Ntcham and Leigh Griffiths ensured Celtic's place amongst Europe's elite for the second consecutive season. In addition, Celtic's 8–4 aggregate win became the highest-scoring tie in UEFA Champions League play-off history.^[47]

16 August 2017 1st leg	Celtic	5–0	Astana	Glasgow
	Postnikov 32' (o.g.) Sinclair 42', 60' Forrest 79' Shitov 88' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 54,016 Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

22 August 2017 2nd leg	Astana	4–3 (4–8 agg.)	Celtic	Astana, Kazakhstan
	Ajer 26' (o.g.) Muzhikov 48' Twumasi 49', 69'	Report	Sinclair 34' Ntcham 80' Griffiths 90'	Stadium: Astana Arena Attendance: 19,075 Referee: Pavel Královec (Czech Republic)

Group stage

On 24 August, the draw for the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage was made. Celtic were drawn in Group B along with Bayern Munich (Pot 1), Paris Saint-Germain (Pot 2) and Anderlecht (Pot 3).^[48] Celtic last met the German and Belgian champions in the 2003–04 season, and have not faced the Ligue 1 side since 1995. Paris Saint-Germain inflicted Celtic's heaviest ever home defeat in European competition on Matchday 1, with goals from the most expensive forward line in history: Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Edinson Cavani. Following the match, Brendan Rodgers suggested his team played like under-12s in the early stages of the game.^[49] Celtic did however respond on Matchday 2 in Brussels, recording a priceless victory over Anderlecht. Leigh Griffiths, Patrick Roberts and Scott Sinclair were on the scoresheet as the club secured its second away victory in Champions League history, and its first away victory since 2012, when Celtic defeated Spartak Moscow. Despite a valiant display against Bayern Munich at Celtic Park and scoring the first goal against Paris Saint-Germain in European competition that season, Celtic lost all four remaining games in the group, but did parachute into the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League knockout phase after finishing with a better head-to-head record against Anderlecht.^[50]

Group B

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification	PAR	BAY	CEL	AND
1	Paris Saint-Germain	6	5	1	25	4	+21	15^[a]	Advance to knockout phase	—	3–0	7–1	5–0
2	Bayern Munich	6	5	1	13	6	+7	15^[a]	Advance to knockout phase	3–1	—	3–0	3–0
3	Celtic	6	1	5	5	18	−13	3^[b]	Transfer to Europa League	0–5	1–2	—	0–1
4	Anderlecht	6	1	5	2	17	−15	3^[b]		0–4	1–2	0–3	—

Close

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
Notes:

[a]
Head-to-head results: Paris Saint-Germain 3–0 Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich 3–1 Paris Saint-Germain.
[b]
Head-to-head results: Anderlecht 0–3 Celtic, Celtic 0–1 Anderlecht.

Matches

12 September 2017 Matchday 1	Celtic	0–5	Paris Saint-Germain	Glasgow
		Report	Neymar 19' Mbappé 34' Cavani 40' (pen.), 85' Lustig 83' (o.g.)	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 57,562 Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy)

27 September 2017 Matchday 2	Anderlecht	0–3	Celtic	Brussels, Belgium
		Report	Griffiths 38' Roberts 50' Sinclair 90+3'	Stadium: Constant Vanden Stock Stadium Attendance: 19,898 Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano (Spain)

18 October 2017 Matchday 3	Bayern Munich	3–0	Celtic	Munich, Germany
	Müller 17' Kimmich 29' Hummels 51'	Report		Stadium: Allianz Arena Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

31 October 2017 Matchday 4	Celtic	1–2	Bayern Munich	Glasgow
	McGregor 74'	Report	Coman 22' Martínez 77'	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 58,269 Referee: Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)

22 November 2017 Matchday 5	Paris Saint-Germain	7–1	Celtic	Paris, France
	Neymar 9', 22' Cavani 28', 79' Mbappé 35' Verratti 75' Alves 80'	Report	Dembélé 1'	Stadium: Parc des Princes Attendance: 46,288 Referee: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Greece)

5 December 2017 Matchday 6	Celtic	0–1	Anderlecht	Glasgow
		Report	Šimunović 62' (o.g.)	Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 57,931 Referee: Matej Jug (Slovenia)

UEFA Europa League

On 11 December, Celtic were drawn to face Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Last 32 of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League.^[51] Callum McGregor's strike gave Celtic a narrow first-leg advantage,^[52] however, a 3–0 defeat in Saint Petersburg brought the Bhoys' involvement in European competition to an end for the 2017–18 season.^[53]

Round of 32

15 February 2018 1st leg	Celtic	1–0	Zenit Saint Petersburg	Glasgow
	McGregor 78'	Report		Stadium: Celtic Park Attendance: 56,743 Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)

22 February 2018 2nd leg	Zenit Saint Petersburg	3–0 (3–1 agg.)	Celtic	Saint Petersburg, Russia
	Ivanović 8' Kuzyayev 27' Kokorin 61'	Report		Stadium: Krestovsky Stadium Attendance: 50,492 Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain)

Statistics

Appearances and goals

^[54]^[55]

As of 19 May 2018

More information No., Pos ...

No.	Pos	Player	Premiership		League Cup		Scottish Cup		Champions League		Europa League		Total
No.	Pos	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	Craig Gordon	26	0	4	0	3	0	12	0	0	0	45	0
24	GK	Dorus de Vries	6	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	10	0
29	GK	Scott Bain	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Defenders
4	DF	Jack Hendry	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	11	0
5	DF	Jozo Šimunović	15	0	1	0	3	0	9	0	2	0	30	0
12	DF	Cristian Gamboa	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0
20	DF	Dedryck Boyata	28	2	3	0	3	1	5	0	0	0	39	3
23	DF	Mikael Lustig	26	1	3	2	4	0	12	0	2	0	47	3
28	DF	Erik Sviatchenko	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0
33	DF	Marvin Compper	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
35	DF	Kristoffer Ajer	24	0	1	0	5	0	2	0	2	0	34	0
56	DF	Anthony Ralston	3	0	2	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	7	1
59	DF	Calvin Miller	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
63	DF	Kieran Tierney	32	3	4	1	5	0	12	0	2	0	55	4
Midfielders
6	MF	Nir Bitton	14	0	2	0	1	0	6	0	0	0	23	0
7	MF	Patrick Roberts	12	0	3	0	1	0	3	1	0	0	19	1
8	MF	Scott Brown (captain)	34	0	3	0	5	0	12	0	2	0	56	0
11	MF	Scott Sinclair	35	10	3	1	5	1	11	6	1	0	55	18
14	MF	Stuart Armstrong	27	3	3	1	1	0	10	1	0	0	41	5
15	MF	Jonny Hayes	15	1	1	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	20	1
18	MF	Tom Rogic	23	5	3	0	3	1	12	2	1	0	42	8
21	MF	Olivier Ntcham	29	5	2	0	5	3	9	1	2	0	47	9
26	MF	Kundai Benyu	1	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	4	0
42	MF	Callum McGregor	36	7	4	1	5	2	8	1	2	1	55	12
49	MF	James Forrest	35	8	4	3	5	4	12	2	2	0	58	17
52	MF	Ewan Henderson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
53	MF	Liam Henderson	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
67	MF	Charly Musonda	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	8	0
73	MF	Mikey Johnston	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
88	MF	Eboue Kouassi	6	0	1	0	2	0	1	0	2	0	12	0
Forwards
9	FW	Leigh Griffiths	25	9	4	2	1	0	9	2	0	0	39	13
10	FW	Moussa Dembélé	25	9	2	3	4	3	6	1	2	0	39	16
22	FW	Odsonne Édouard	22	9	1	0	3	2	2	0	1	0	29	11

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Goalscorers

More information R, No. ...

R	No.	Pos.	Name	Premiership	League Cup	Scottish Cup	Champions League	Europa League	Total
1	11	MF	Scott Sinclair	10	1	1	6	0	18
2	49	MF	James Forrest	8	3	4	2	0	17
3	10	FW	Moussa Dembélé	9	3	3	1	0	16
4	9	FW	Leigh Griffiths	9	2	0	2	0	13
5	42	MF	Callum McGregor	7	1	2	1	1	12
6	22	FW	Odsonne Édouard	9	0	2	0	0	11
7	21	MF	Olivier Ntcham	5	0	3	1	0	9
8	18	MF	Tom Rogic	5	0	1	2	0	8
9	14	MF	Stuart Armstrong	3	1	0	1	0	5
10	63	DF	Kieran Tierney	3	1	0	0	0	4
11	23	DF	Mikael Lustig	1	2	0	0	0	3
11	20	DF	Dedryck Boyata	2	0	1	0	0	3
12	56	DF	Anthony Ralston	0	1	0	0	0	1
	7	MF	Patrick Roberts	0	0	0	1	0	1
	15	MF	Jonny Hayes	1	0	0	0	0	1
Own Goals				1	0	0	3	0	4
Total				73	15	17	20	1	126

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Last updated: 19 May 2018

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitive matches. Players listed below made at least one appearance for Celtic first squad during the season.

N	P	Nat.	Name											Notes
N	P	Nat.	Name	Premiership			League Cup	Scottish Cup	Champions League	Europa League	Total			Notes
5	DF		Šimunović			1			3		3		1
23	DF		Lustig	5	1		1	1		1	8	1
8	MF		Brown	9			2	1	2	1	15
21	MF		Ntcham	4			1		1	1	7
10	FW		Dembélé	2			1			2	5
63	DF		Tierney	4					1		5
20	DF		Boyata	4				1			5
9	FW		Griffiths	3					1		4
35	DF		Ajer	3					1		4
88	MF		Kouassi	1						2	3
4	DF		Hendry	3							3
42	MF		McGregor	2			1				3
18	MF		Rogic	1					1		2
6	MF		Bitton						1		1
7	MF		Roberts						1		1
14	MF		Armstrong						1		1
15	MF		Hayes	1							1
22	FW		Édouard	1							1
49	MF		Forrest	1							1
56	DF		Ralston						1		1
29	GK		Bain	1							1

Last updated: 19 May 2018
Source: Competitive matches
Only competitive matches
Ordered by , and
= Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.

Hat-tricks

More information Player, Against ...

Player	Against	Result	Date	Competition
Odsonne Édouard	Motherwell	5–1 (H)	2 December 2017	Premiership
James Forrest	Partick Thistle	3–2 (H)	10 February 2018	Scottish Cup

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(H) – Home; (A) – Away; (N) – Neutral

Clean sheets

As of 19 May 2018.

More information Rank, Name ...

Rank	Name	Premiership	League Cup	Scottish Cup	Champions League	Europa League	Total	Played Games
1	Craig Gordon	14	3	3	1	0	26	45
2	Dorus de Vries	4	0	1	0	1	6	10
3	Scott Bain	3	0	0	0	0	3	7
Total		21	3	4	1	1	30	62

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Attendances

As of match played 13 May 2018

More information Matches, Attendances ...

	Matches	Attendances	Average	High	Low
Premiership	19	1,093,686	57,562	59,259	53,883
League Cup	1	27,407	27,407	27,407	27,407
Scottish Cup	3	67,325	22,441	24,879	18,255
Champions League	6	335,025	55,837	58,269	49,172
Europa League	1	56,743	56,743	56,743	56,743
Total	30	1,580,186	52,672	59,259	18,255

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Team statistics

League table

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation^[a]
1	Celtic (C)	38	24	10	4	73	25	+48	82	Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round^[b]
2	Aberdeen	38	22	7	9	56	37	+19	73	Qualification for the Europa League second qualifying round
3	Rangers	38	21	7	10	76	50	+26	70	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
4	Hibernian	38	18	13	7	62	46	+16	67	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
5	Kilmarnock	38	16	11	11	49	47	+2	59

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Source: Soccerway BBC
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification and second-stage group allocation).^[56]
(C) Champions
Notes:

[a]
Teams play each other three times (33 matches) before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).
[b]
Since the winners of the 2017–18 Scottish Cup, Celtic, qualified for European competition based on league position, the spot awarded to the Scottish Cup winners (Europa League second qualifying round) was passed to the second-placed team and the spot awarded to the second-placed team (Europa League first qualifying round) was passed to the fourth-placed team.

Competition overview

More information Competition, First match ...

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Record
Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Champions League	14 July 2017	5 December 2017	2nd round	Group stage	12	5	1	6	20	22	−2	041.67
Premiership	5 August 2017	13 May 2018	Matchday 1	Winners	38	24	10	4	73	25	+48	063.16
League Cup	8 August 2017	26 November 2017	2nd round	Winners	4	4	0	0	15	2	+13	100.00
Scottish Cup	20 January 2018	19 May 2018	4th Round	Winners	5	5	0	0	17	2	+15	100.00
Europa League	15 February 2018	22 February 2018	Round of 32	Round of 32	2	1	0	1	1	3	−2	050.00
Total					61	39	11	11	126	54	+72	063.93

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Source: Competitions

Champions League: ^[57] Scottish Premiership: ^[58] Scottish League Cup: ^[59] Scottish Cup: ^[60]

Results by round

More information Round, Ground ...

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H
Result	W	W	W	D	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	D	W	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	L	D	W	D	W	D	W	W	L	W	W	D	L
Position	1	2	1	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

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Updated to match(es) played on 13 May 2018. Source: Competitive matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Club

Technical Staff

More information Position, Staff ...

Position	Staff
Manager	Brendan Rodgers^[61]
Assistant Manager	Chris Davies^[62]
First Team Coach	John Kennedy
Goalkeeping Coach	Stevie Woods
Head of Performance	Glen Driscoll^[63]
Technical Assistant	Kolo Touré^[64]
Head of Recruitment	Lee Congerton^[65]
Head Physiotherapist	Tim Williamson
Head of Sports Science	Jack Nayler
First Team Nutritionist	Rob Naughton

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Last updated: 15 September 2017
Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Kit

Supplier: New Balance / Sponsors: Dafabet (front) and Magners (back)

The club was in the third year of a deal with manufacturer New Balance.^[66] The kit range for the 2017–18 season paid tribute to the Lisbon Lions; the kits had a line on each side to represent the handles of the European Cup. The kits also included a commemorative crest.^[67]

Home

Away

Third

Fourth

Goalkeeper 1

Goalkeeper 2

Goalkeeper 3

Home: The home kit was designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Celtic's victory in the 1967 European Cup Final. The kit followed the traditional style, with a gold club crest.^[68]
Away: The away kit featured dark green hoops with a gold trimming. It kit was designed to reflect the Celtic away kit worn during the 1966–67 season.^[69]
Third: The third kit was cactus green and featured a black crest. The Celtic and Inter Milan teams which competed for the trophy were commemorated in the inner back neck of the jersey, where green and white hoops and black and blue stripes could be found.^[70]
Fourth: The third pink kit released for the 2016–17 season returned as a fourth kit due to a kit clash in both away matches against Hibernian.^[71]^[72]

Transfers

More information Pos, Player ...

In

Pos	Player	From	Type	Window	Ends	Fee
MF	Jonny Hayes	Aberdeen	Transfer	Summer	2020	£1,000,000^[73]
MF	Kundai Benyu	Ipswich Town	Transfer	Summer	2021	Undisclosed^[74]
MF	Olivier Ntcham	Manchester City	Transfer	Summer	2021	£4,500,000^[75]
MF	Patrick Roberts	Manchester City	Loan	Summer	2018	Loan^[76]
FW	Odsonne Édouard	Paris Saint-Germain	Loan	Summer	2018	Loan^[77]
DF	Marvin Compper	RB Leipzig	Transfer	Winter	2020	£1,000,000^[78]
MF	Lewis Morgan	St Mirren	Transfer	Winter	2022	£300,000^[79]
MF	Charly Musonda	Chelsea	Loan	Winter	2019	Loan^[80]
GK	Scott Bain	Dundee	Loan	Winter	2018	Loan^[81]
DF	Jack Hendry	Dundee	Transfer	Winter	2022	£1,500,000^[81]
MF	Leo Mazis	Belconnen United	Transfer	Winter	2021	Undisclosed^[82]

Out

Pos	Player	To	Type	Window	Fee
MF	Theo Archibald	Brentford	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed^[83]
MF	Kris Commons	Unattached	End of contract	Summer	Free^[84]
DF	Josh Kerr	Brighton	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed^[85]
DF	Efe Ambrose	Hibernian	End of contract	Summer	Free^[86]
DF	Eoghan O'Connell	Bury	End of contract	Summer	Free^[87]
MF	Scott Allan	Dundee	Loan	Summer	Loan^[88]
MF	Ryan Christie	Aberdeen	Loan	Summer	Loan^[73]
DF	Fiacre Kelleher	Oxford United	End of contract	Summer	Free^[89]
MF	Brandon Payne	Unattached	End of contract	Summer	Free^[90]
GK	Aidan McAdams	Rangers	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed^[91]
FW	Paul McMullan	Dundee United	End of contract	Summer	Free^[92]
MF	Jamie Lindsay	Ross County	Loan	Summer	Loan^[93]
DF	Saidy Janko	Saint-Étienne	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed^[94]
GK	Logan Bailly	Mouscron	Contract Terminated	Summer	Free^[95]
MF	Gary Mackay-Steven	Aberdeen	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed^[96]
MF	Connor McManus	Morton	End of contract	Summer	Free^[97]
DF	Sam Wardrop	Dumbarton	Loan	Summer	Loan^[98]
DF	Emilio Izaguirre	Al-Fayha	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed^[99]
GK	Leo Fasan	Bury	End of contract	Summer	Free^[100]
MF	Joe Thomson	Livingston	Loan	Summer	Loan^[101]
GK	Ross Doohan	Morton	Loan	Summer	Loan^[102]
FW	Nadir Çiftçi	Plymouth Argyle	Loan	Summer	Loan^[103]
DF	Shaun Bowers	Motherwell	End of contract	Summer	Free^[104]
FW	PJ Crossan	Alloa Athletic	Loan	Summer	Loan^[105]^[106]
MF	Aidan Nesbitt	MK Dons	Transfer	Summer	Undisclosed^[107]
DF	Aidan McIlduff	Peterhead	End of contract	Summer	Free^[108]
FW	Luke Donnelly	Queen's Park	End of contract	Summer	Free^[109]
DF	Kolo Touré	Retired^[64]
DF	Jamie McCart	St Mirren	Emergency Loan^[110]
MF	Joe Thomson	Queen of the South	Emergency Loan^[111]
MF	Regan Hendry	Raith Rovers	Loan	Winter	Loan^[112]
MF	Lewis Morgan	St Mirren	Loan	Winter	Loan^[79]
MF	Kundai Benyu	Oldham Athletic	Loan	Winter	Loan^[113]
FW	Nadir Çiftçi	Motherwell	Loan	Winter	Loan^[114]
DF	Erik Sviatchenko	FC Midtjylland	Loan	Winter	Loan^[115]
MF	Mark Hill	St Mirren	Loan	Winter	Loan^[116]
MF	Liam Henderson	Bari	Transfer	Winter	Undisclosed^[117]
DF	Jamie McCart	Alloa Athletic	Loan	Winter	Loan^[118]
GK	Conor Hazard	Falkirk	Loan	Winter	Loan^[119]
MF	Scott Allan	Hibernian	Loan	Winter	Loan^[120]
DF	Anthony Ralston	Dundee United	Emergency Loan^[121]

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2017–18 Celtic F.C. season

Background

Pre-season and friendlies

Scottish Premiership

Scottish League Cup

Scottish Cup

Europe

UEFA Champions League

Second qualifying round

Third qualifying round

Play-off round

Group stage

Group B

Matches

UEFA Europa League

Round of 32

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Goalscorers

Disciplinary record

Hat-tricks

Clean sheets

Attendances

Team statistics

League table

Competition overview

Results by round

Club

Technical Staff

Kit

Transfers

In

Out

See also

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks