Rangers progressed to the Europa League next round while Celtic were knocked out of the Contest.
Rangers will undoubtedly be even more happy about their progression into the Europa League last 16 phases after viewing Celtic knocked out of the championship, but their remarkable run might have inadvertently helped their bitter rivals. Rangers had already made sure of their place in this day’s draw for the Europa League last 16 after beating Braga on Wednesday night.
The pressure was then on Celtic to follow suit in their second leg against Copenhagen in Parkhead.
Neil Lennon’s side have been in a strong position after coming back in the first leg with a crucial away goal in a 1-1 draw.
But Celtic wasted a variety of opportunities before being forced to pay late on as the Danish Superliga side completed 3-1 winners to advance to the next round.
Lennon was bitterly disappointed after the final whistle, criticising his side for failing to benefit from their strong position.
They have now got to watch on with Rangers the only Scottish agents in the Europa League last-16 draw.
The defeat though also had some consequences for Scotland’s UEFA coefficient, costing Scotland a guaranteed second Champions League qualifying spot from 2021/22.
The Scottish Premiership is still in a fantastic position as securing a spot in the top 15 drawing Champions League rewards.
Scotland now sits 14th at the UEFA coefficient ranks with only Switzerland and Greece beneath them with busy teams competing in Europe.
That poses a bit of a threat to Scotland’s position, but only marginally with Olympiakos and Basel both needing to go far in the contest to oust Scotland in the top 15.
Olympiakos must get to the semi-final at best while Basel need to go up to the closing in order for Scotland to fall down to 16th.
Rangers though can make sure of Scotland’s position if they are able to get to the quarter-finals.
If Scotland does hold on to their location within the top 15, the top two sides in the Scottish Premiership is going to be drawn to the Champions League qualifying stage from 2021/22.
Scotland has traditionally had only 1 team qualifying for the Champions League qualifying stage, entering the contest in the first round of qualifying.
But their present position could see things radically change with Rangers’ run significance that the Scottish Premiership champions could enter the contest in the third qualifying round.
The Scottish Premiership runners-up meanwhile will enter the second qualifying round.
While the changes are not likely to occur until the onset of this 2021 season, Celtic are now in prime position to take complete advantage of the Rangers’ success.
This will be set on next season’s results from the Scottish Premiership, however, with Steven Gerrard desperate to finish Celtic’s dominance.
