Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers ios remaining hopeful that his side can progress into the last 16 of the Europa League by beating Valencia at the Mestalla tomorrow night. Rodgers said: "The first goal in this game will be important. If we can get the first goal in the game, we don’t need to go flying in after that. We just need to settle ourselves into the game and find our confidence."
Ahead of Celtic's trip to Spain, The Herald have taken a look at five other memorable European nights where the Parkhead club have overturned a two-goal deficit and gone on to win the game.
The Daily Record are reporting that Premiership clubs have launched a bid to bring foreign referees to Scotland in the hope of raising the standard of officiating in the top flight.
The recriminations and fallout from Rangers' goalless draw at home to St Johnstone remain ongoing and manager Steven Gerrard has revealed that he won't scream and shout at his players to improve him, nor will he heap praise on them. Gerrard said: "For me, it’s all about the balance. I have tried to build relationships with these players individually so that they trust me in terms of my feedback."
And Gerrard has admitted that Rangers have suffered during Alfredo Morelos' suspension. "I think we’ve lacked players stepping up and providing big moments and bits of magic at the right time in Alfredo’s absence, in Scott [Arfield]’s absence," Gerrard said. "But it’s my job to make sure we’re not over-reliant on him going forward and that’s what I’ll do."
The Herald's Stewart Fisher agrees with Gerrard's claim that the Ibrox club are "over-analysed" in the media, but pointed out that this is part and parcel of managing a big club such as Rangers.
Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke has had enough of discussing events off the pitch and would prefer to focus on his team's performance on it. The Killie boss was asked about the behaviour of Celtic fans at Rugby Park on Sunday and responded: "Can we not just talk about the game?"
One man who would like to talk about the off-field shenanigans is The Herald's Neil Cameron, who has suggested that there is abreed of football fan who consider themselves to be above the rules imposed by clubs and the SFA.
BBC Scotland has responded to claims from Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson that the broadcaster has "vilified" striker Alfredo Morelos. A statement from the BBC said: "Our coverage, including analysis and comment, is editorially fair. We will continue to speak to both Rangers and the SPFL about the situation as we believe it's in the best interest of our audiences to restore the ability to bring commentaries from all SPFL grounds."
Archie Macpherson has said that Rangers are wrong to be paranoid about the BBC coverage they recieve, and has pointed out that Celtic fans used to feel similarly not so long ago.
The Herald's James Cairney has dug into this season's stats and believes that the numbers show that Rangers still aren't near to closing the gap with their rivals Celtic.
Ex-Hearts defender Jose Goncalves has warned Steven Naismith he would miss the passion and pressure of life in the goldfish bowl of Scottish football if he calls time on his Hearts career to pursue his American dream. Goncalves said: "The atmosphere created by the fans and people around the club at Hearts was just unbelievable. You will not get that passion in the US."
Former Celtic and Hibernian manager Neil Lennon admits he may never escape the "dark clouds" that have hung over him in Scotland, but is adament that he would like another job in the Premiership. "I've won a lot and had a lot of success at both the clubs I've managed up here," Lennon said.
Inverness have dumped their Highland rivals Ross County out of the Scottish Cup on penalties and will now face Dundee United in the quarter-finals of the Cup. Inverness manager John Robertson revealed after the game that while he was nervous during the shoot-out, his players were ready for such an eventuality. "We practised penalties yesterday and had the players taking them from 15 yards out," Robertson said. "The thinking was to challenge them – if you can do that you can score from 12."
Liverpool were held to a goalless draw at Anfield last night against Bayern Munich in the Champions League but manager Jurgen Klopp remained confident of progressing to the last eight. Klopp said: "For us, it's absolutely OK. It's not a dream result but it's a good one and we can work with that."
In rugby, Scotland's new centre Sam Johnson has said that he is ready to demonstrate his leadership ability and, should it be called upon, his versatility for this weekend’s trip to Paris. Johnson said: "I’m 100 per cent ready to go, so hopefully I’ll be involved this weekend and whoever’s around me it doesn’t really matter once you pull on that Scotland jersey, you’ve got a job to do, so we’ll go for it."
In tennis, 21-year-old Scot Maia Lumsden has came out on top at the IFT World Tennis Tour Scottish Championships and will feature in the next round, while compatriot Aidan McHugh was knocked out in a tightly-contested match.
And in Formula One, David Richards, the chairman of UK motor racing's governing body, has warned that Mercedes could pull the plug on Formula One if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal. Richards warned: "It [a hard Brexit] is not going to make life for a Formula One team based in England any easier."
Elsewhere, Steven Gerrard has told the Scottish Sun that any chances of landing the league title are now over and the Scottish Cup is the Ibrox club's only remaining chance of winning any silverware this season.
And Aberdeen defender Tommy Hoban has been ruled out for the rest of the season with an injury, according to the Press and Journal.
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