5 Ways Celtic Can Beat Malmo And Qualify For Champions League
2. Don’t Concede Any Away Goals
At the risk of stating the obvious, it is vitally important that Celtic make sure they don’t concede an away goal in the first leg of the tie.
Even under Ronny Deila’s management Celtic’s supposed European away curse seems to have continued, with only 2 wins from 9 away matches in Europe during his reign - a narrow 1-0 win over Iceland’s KR Reykjavík last season and, more recently, a comprehensive 4-1 win against fellow Icelanders Stjarnan in this season’s qualifiers.
Therefore it is imperative that Celtic leave themselves with as little as possible to do come the 2nd leg of the tie with Malmo in Sweden. Malmo already showed in the last round with an impressive 3-0 victory over the highest seeds Red Bull Salzburg just how dangerous they can be at home.
If Celtic concede an away goal and leave themselves with too much to do in the away leg then they could well find themselves having to settle for Europa League football again this season.