Rangers and Celtic compete for a Champions League spot each season.
Rangers and Celtic are on high alert as discussions about a huge Champions League plot begin.
The Hoops have had success in the redesigned league phase, which has replaced the group stages. Progress to the knockout round play-off against Bayern Munich has been secured after finishing in the top 24 in the competition, defeating RB Leipzig, Slovan Bratislava, and Young Boys.
Rangers were eliminated in the qualifying rounds, but they compete with Celtic for the Scottish title every year, which guarantees a place at Europe’s top table. Philippe Clement’s side also has an other route there if they make it all the way through the Europa League.
Rangers are now in the final 16, having finished in the top eight of the second tier’s league phase. Both clubs will aim to dine out in such a venue in future seasons, and if they do, they may face significant changes.
According to the Guardian, extra-curricular activities are being scrutinized and may be discontinued. Demands for players have increased in recent seasons, and the new Club World Cup has added to an already busy fixture schedule. UEFA could now take steps to reduce the workload.
According to reports, “Discussions to scrap extra time from Champions League knockout rounds are gathering speed within Uefa in what would be a new step to reduce the number of minutes played by top clubs.” According to the paper, “the topic of taking ties in UEFA’s club competitions straight to penalties is being given serious consideration, although a change midway through this television rights cycle, which runs until 2027, is unlikely.”
That indicates that extra-time may only be used for a few more seasons. Rangers used extra-time to beat Braga on their way to the Europa League final in 2022, while Porto famously defeated Celtic 3-2 in the UEFA Cup final nearly 22 years ago after an extra half-hour.
