Celtic have been given one of the toughest Champions League group stages upon their return to the competition after an absence of two years.
They were unable to qualify for this Premier European competition under the regime of Ronny Deila. However, former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has brought about instant success – at least in this regard – after they reached the group stages following success in the play-offs. Just when it rekindled hopes of reaching the knockout stages, they have been paired up against Barcelona, Manchester City, and Borussia Monchengladbach.
While Barcelona and City are the overwhelming favourites to qualify, it will be extremely tough for Celtic to overcome Monchengladbach and finish in the third place. The German team are full of quality players and Celtic are the least favourites to at least qualify for the Europa League from this position. Still, one of those to be happy with this draw is defender Kolo Toure. The former Liverpool man joined the Scottish club on a free transfer and he spoke about the joy of being paired up against his brother Yaya Touré. It is highly unlikely that Yaya Touré will be part of the Champions League first-team under Pep Guardiola. The 33-year-old only had a late substitute appearance against Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League qualifiers.
“It would be nice to play against my brother. That would be great.It won’t be the first time and it would be really exciting.Do I have a good record against him? Hmm, I don’t know, I would have to check that.He has been winning a few games, I have been winning some as well when we’ve played against one another. We have never played against one another in the Champions League. That would be a really good thing for the family and I really hope the younger brother will let me win!” said Toure.