Celtic star targets Champions League 'history' as ex-Rangers man receives 'help' from former Chelsea boss

Celtic and Rangers will meet each other in the Premier Sports Cup final following their victories at the weekend. The reigning champions in light blue oversaw Motherwell away from home to keep their title defence hopes alive, while the Hoops demolished current Scottish Premiership rivals Aberdeen in a 6-0 crushing.

The two Glasgow sides will meet in December for play out the Premier Sports Cup final but there’s plenty to do until then. Both sides are back in action midweek as they return to Europe, followed by Premiership fixtures on Sunday. In the meantime, here’s a look at some of the latest headlines for both clubs.

Celtic star makes Champions League claim

Celtic made a huge statement against the Dons on Saturday with their fiery victory to set up another final with Rangers. Fresh off the back of their 6-0 demolition, the next challenge for Brendan Rodgers is RB Leipzig in the Champions League and the players are eyeing a spot in the new play-offs format.

Cameron Carter-Vickers has discussed the Hoops’ aim to finish inside the top 24 and work for their place in the next round. As it stands, Celtic are 20th, with four points picked up from their first three games. The US international believes the upcoming four matches, three of which will be at home, could help define their path to the Champions League play-offs.

“You like to think at home you can win games and that’ll be the aim for the three games. Obviously, the home games are definitely important. So, yeah, over the course of those three games, we’re hoping to pick up as many points as possible and that’ll definitely be important.

“It will be a tough game. For us, it’s just about trying to get to the next stage of the competition and, if we can get something from the game on Tuesday, we’ll almost be there.

“Ideally, when we go out, we want to try and dominate every game we play, but we know that’s probably not possible when you play against the better teams. Like the boys showed [against Atalanta], I thought that kind of defensive resolve and being able to stick in games as well is going to be important for us Tuesday.”

Ex-Rangers ace given help from former Chelsea boss

Over the summer, Scotland icons Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour both made the move from the Premier League to join Napoli. Currently top of the Serie A table, it’s been the ideal start for the two midfielders, who have both become regulars at their new side.

Two months following his move from Brighton and Hove Albion, Gilmour has spoken about how he is settling in at Napoli. The 23-year-old has admitted that he has gotten stuck into learning Italian and while he doesn’t speak the language fluently yet, he is on his way with the help of manager Antonio Conte.

“I am fit and well, I’m enjoying it. Of course, we are doing well as a team, so we want to keep building on that. The coach has been really good. Of course, I don’t speak Italian yet, and I need to learn, but he’s been helping me in training,” Gilmour told DAZN.

Conte previously managed Chelsea, Gilmour’s first senior club following his move as a youth player from Rangers. The midfielder was pushing to come through the ranks during the Italian’s tenure but he was sacked and succeeded by Maurizio Sarri and Frank Lampard before he made his senior debut.