2016–17 Celtic F.C. season


The 2016–17 season was the 128th season of competitive football by Celtic. They competed in the Scottish Premiership, Champions League, League Cup and Scottish Cup. They won all three domestic tournaments, completing a domestic treble, while going undefeated in 47 domestic games and were nicknamed the "Invincibles".

Season overview

May

On 20 May 2016, Brendan Rodgers was appointed as the club's new manager, succeeding Ronny Deila in the role.

June

On 23 June 2016, Celtic made £1.1 million from the £11 million sale of Victor Wanyama from Southampton to Tottenham Hotspur because the club had inserted a ten percent sell on clause in his contract when he was sold by the club to Southampton in July 2013.

September

On 10 September 2016, Moussa Dembélé became the first Celtic player to score a hat-trick in an old firm match, in a 5–1 home victory, against Rangers since 1973. It was also the first hat-trick scored in a league match against Rangers since 1966.
On 24 September 2016, Scott Sinclair broke Jimmy McGrory's record of scoring in Celtic's five successive opening league matches of the season in the 1930s, by scoring in Celtic's six successive opening league matches of the season.

November

On 27 November 2016, Celtic won the Scottish League Cup, after beating Aberdeen 3–0 in the Final at Hampden Park, with goals from Tom Rogic, James Forrest, and a Moussa Dembélé penalty. It was a milestone trophy for the club, as it was the 100th major trophy won during the club's existence..

December

On 13 December 2016, Brendan Rodgers broke the record for the best unbeaten start to a domestic season as a Celtic manager in their first season in his 19th match in charge, with a 1–0 win at home to Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Premiership. The record had been set by Martin O'Neill after his first 18 games incharge.
On 28 December 2016, Celtic won 2–0 at home to Ross County in the Scottish Premiership, a result which meant the club had gone throughout the entire year of 2016 without a single domestic defeat at Celtic Park.
On 31 December 2016, Celtic inflicted a first home defeat on Old Firm rivals Rangers at Ibrox Stadium in all competitions since September 2015, with a 2–1 win in the Scottish Premiership.

January

On 29 January 2017, Celtic won 4–0 at home to Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premiership, with the team breaking a 50-years-old club record for the longest unbeaten start to a domestic season, with this victory at Celtic Park being their 27th domestic match unbeaten.

February

On 2 February 2017, it was announced that Celtic would be awarded £386,543 by UEFA to cover costs for releasing the club's players who were called up by their country for international duty during the UEFA Euro 2016 Finals tournament and the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign.

March

On 12 March 2017, Celtic drew 1–1 at home with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, a result that ended a run of 22 consecutive league victories in-a-row. It is record only bettered by Martin O'Neil's Celtic team who managed 25 consecutive league wins in-a-row in 2003–04.

April

On 2 April 2017, Celtic won 5–0 at Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premiership, to win the earliest Scottish league championship in 88 years with eight league matches still remaining.
On 29 April 2017, Celtic won 5–1 at Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, to record the club's biggest scoreline for a victory at Ibrox since 1897.

May

On 7 May 2017, PFA Scotland named Scott Sinclair as the Player of the Year, Kieran Tierney as the Young Player of the Year, Brendan Rodgers as the Manager of the Year. Moussa Dembélé was also named as the winner of Goal of the Season, as well as Sinclair, Tierney, Dembélé, Mikael Lustig, Stuart Armstrong and Scott Brown were named in the Premiership Team of the Year.
On 19 May 2017, Scott Brown was named as the Scottish Premiership Player of the Season and Brendan Rodgers was named as the Scottish Premiership Manager of the Season.
On 21 May 2017, Scottish Football Writers' Association named Scott Sinclair as the Footballer of the Year, Kieran Tierney as the Young Player of the Year and Brendan Rodgers as the Manager of the Year.
On 21 May 2017, Celtic won 2–0 at home to Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premiership, a result which meant Celtic had completed a full 38 match league season without losing a match, becoming the first team to go an entire Scottish top flght league season without a defeat since 1898–99. The team also bettered the club's best points total and most wins from 2001–02, fewest defeats from 2001–02 and 2013–14, most goal scored from 2003–04, and title winning points margin from 2013–14 for a SPL / SPFL Premiership league season, finishing the season with 106 points, 34 wins, no defeats, 106 goals scored, and a title winning points margin of 30 points.
On 21 May 2017, Celtic's title winning points margin of 30 points was also the second largest points gap ever between first and second place in top flight leagues across Europe. Celtic's total of 106 points accumulated in the league is a European record for top flight league.
On 27 May 2017, Celtic won 2–1 against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park, with the Celtic goals coming from Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic. The result meant that the team completed the domestic treble for the fourth time in the club's history and finished a 47 match domestic season without losing a match.

Results and fixtures

Pre-season and friendlies

Celtic preceded the 2016–17 campaign with a pre-season tour of Slovenia, with matches against Celje, Olimpija Ljubljana and Maribor. The Hoops also made a short trip over the Slovenia–Austria border to face Sturm Graz, in preparation for the UEFA Champions League qualifiers. Brendan Rodgers' side also faced Wolfsburg, Leicester City, Barcelona and Inter Milan in a busy pre-season schedule. Celtic's first warm-up match ended in a 2–2 draw with Celje; Nadir Çiftçi and Tom Rogic scored as Celtic came from behind to avoid defeat. Rodgers recorded his first victory as manager in a 1–0 win over Strum Graz, with Ryan Christie on the scoresheet. Celtic achieved another positive result only days later, this time against Olimpija Ljubljana, with Leigh Griffiths striking twice. A scoreless draw with Maribor rounded off Celtic's preparations before the competitive action began. Celtic's remaining pre-season matches were interspersed with European football. The Bhoys recorded an impressive 2–1 victory over Bundesliga side Wolfsburg in Brendan Rodgers' first match at Celtic Park. This was followed by a draw with Leicester City in Glasgow, and defeats to Barcelona in Dublin and Inter Milan in Limerick.

International Champions Cup

Scottish Premiership

UEFA Champions League

Second Qualifying Round

Celtic faced Lincoln Red Imps in the Second Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League. The first leg saw the part-time underdogs record a shock 1–0 victory, thanks to Lee Casciaro's second half finish. However, Celtic turned the tie around in the second leg, winning 3–0 on the night, with goals from Mikael Lustig, Leigh Griffiths and Patrick Roberts.

Third Qualifying Round

Celtic faced Astana in the Third Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League. The first leg saw a Yuriy Logvinenko header cancelled out by a late goal from Leigh Griffiths, resulting in a 1–1 draw. A week later, the Scottish champions progressed to the Play-Off Round, following a 2–1 win in the second leg. Moussa Dembélé's last-minute penalty secured Celtic's place in Europe until the end of the year.

Play-Off Round

Group Stage

Scottish League Cup

Scottish Cup

Player statistics

Squad, appearances and goals

Goalscorers

Last updated: 27 May 2017

Disciplinary record

Includes all competitive matches. Players listed below made at least one appearance for Celtic first squad during the season.
PlayerAgainstResultDateCompetition
Moussa Dembélé Rangers5–1 10 September 2016Scottish Premiership
Moussa Dembélé St Johnstone2–5 5 February 2017Scottish Premiership
Moussa Dembélé Inverness CT6–0 11 February 2017Scottish Cup
Scott Sinclair Hearts0–5 2 April 2017Scottish Premiership

– Home; – Away; – Neutral

Clean sheets

As of 27 May 2017.

Team statistics

League table

Competition Overview

League results summary

Source:

Results by round

Technical staff

Transfers

In

Out

Total income: £3 million
Total expenditure: £7.6 million
Total profit/loss: £4.6 million