Rangers Europa League loss a coefficient blow as Celtic sweat over UCL spot

Rangers’ defeat in the Europa League tonight could have implications for Celtic and Scottish football as a whole.

Scotland were already hanging on by a thread in the top 10 of the coefficient table and the Light Blues’ exit at the hands of Benfica means we no longer have anyone competing on the continent. It’s been the Czech Republic breathing down our necks and while both Prague sides will exit the Europa League, Viktoria Plzen have made it past Servette in the Conference League.

Plzen won on penalties tonight meaning they earn 0.25 points for the draw after extra time and that means we keep 10th spot for now. That moves the Czechs up to 35.8 points, behind our 36.05. However, if Plzen can manage just one draw from either of the legs in their last eight tie, they would move ahead and into 10th.

They will find out their opponents in tomorrow’s draw, so Scots can watch on in hope they land one of the big hitters who can best them in both legs.

If Scotland manages to hang onto 10th then we would keep the automatic place in next season’s Champions League for whoever wins the Premiership, with Celtic and Rangers both still fighting it out.

If we end up in 11th, then the Hoops would have to navigate a qualifying round against a Champion from outside the top 10 leagues if they end up league champions. However, Rangers would still likely qualify if it’s them due to their strong club coefficient points.

Beyond that, we will definitely miss out on the top 10 after next season as the 2019/20 campaign will no longer count and that was Scottish club’s best season with 9.750 points, as explained by Scotland’s coefficient.

As is stands we would drop to 16th but performance in Europe next season can solve that.