Four Scottish sides avoided defeat in Europe on Thursday, only the second time that has happened since 6 October 1988! The previous occurrence was five years ago, on 5 August 2021.
5th August 2021:
the last time 4 Scottish teams avoided defeat on the same night
Breiðablik 2-3 Aberdeen
Jablonec 2-4 Celtic
Hibernian 1-1 Rijeka
Galatasaray 1-1 St. Johnstone
To be fair, there have been only 12 European dates since 6 October 1988 on which exactly four Scottish clubs played on the same day. Expanding the search to the same week and exactly four Scottish clubs have played in 71 separate European weeks, with all four avoiding defeat in only 16 of them.
Across the full history of Scottish clubs in Europe since 1955, Thursday was the 20th date on which at least four Scottish sides avoided defeat. It was only the 11th night when exactly four Scottish clubs played and all four went unbeaten.
Rare.
Only once have exactly five Scottish clubs played in the same European week and all five avoided defeat. That came in September 1971, when Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, Rangers and St Johnstone all won.
Next week’s play-off round would be a very good time to do it again!
As a result of the three draws and one win, Hearts and Rangers drop down to the Conference League, while Hibs and Motherwell have both progressed to the play-off round, which is a fantastic achievement.
It’s the first time since 2020/21 that Motherwell have won two European ties in the same season, and only the fourth time overall. Hibs have achieved it for the ninth time and the first since 2023/24. Hibs have also won at least one European tie in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1973/74 and 1974/75.
Coefficient Contribution
Motherwell remain Scotland’s leading contributors to the coefficient this season and are the only unbeaten side of the four to have played so far.
For Scotland this season, a qualifying win adds 0.2 coefficient points and a draw adds 0.1. Thursday's one win and three draws therefore added 0.5, taking the season total to 1.4.
Points in qualifiers are handy, but they are worth half as much as points in the league phase. The main aim in qualifying is to get as many teams as possible into the league phase, where each will have at least six matches in which to accumulate points.
Hibernian
Hibs produced the least dramatic result and perhaps the most valuable performance, particularly given the scorching heat away from home. David Gray’s side protected a 2-1 first-leg lead with a goalless draw away to Shkëndija.
Their reward is a play-off against Gent, who completed a 2-1 aggregate victory over IFK Göteborg. Hibs travel to Belgium for the first leg on 20 August before the return in Edinburgh on 27 August. Defeat at that stage would leave Hibs with UEFA earnings of at least €1.275m, while victory would raise their projected minimum to €4.3m in the Conference League phase.
Motherwell
Although it was a rare night in terms of all four Scottish teams avoiding defeat, Motherwell supplied the only victory. Ibrahim Said netted two unbelievable goals after half-time, as HJK were beaten 2-0 at Fir Park and 3-1 on aggregate. Having the second leg at home is always a big advantage, especially if you can avoid defeat in the first leg, and Motherwell capitalised perfectly.
Freiburg now stand between Motherwell and their first-ever league phase. The Bundesliga club enter the competition at the play-off round, with Fir Park hosting the opening leg next Thursday before the return in Germany, so there will be no second-leg home advantage this time. Motherwell have the same financial ‘floor’ as Hibs: €1.275m if eliminated and a projected minimum of €4.3m if they qualify for the league phase.
Minimum earnings are what UEFA will pay each team, depending on coefficient and TV rights value, before a ball is kicked. Those figures can increase during the league phase, as points mean prize money.
Rangers
At Ibrox, Rangers briefly threatened to overturn their deficit against Jagiellonia Białystok, but never really looked like going through. Lawrence Shankland’s 19th-minute penalty levelled the tie on aggregate, but Nik Prelec headed the Polish side level on the night after 65 minutes, in a second half where Rangers completely fell away. A 1-1 draw meant a 3-2 aggregate defeat for Rangers and increased the pressure on new manager Derek McInnes after another disastrous start to the season for the club.
Jablonec are next for Rangers after the Czech side beat RFS 4-1 on aggregate. This will be Rangers’ first ever Conference League match, and given that Champions League football would have been guaranteed had they won the league last season, this will feel like a massive fall after several years of European overachievement.
Rangers will host the first leg at Ibrox next Thursday and, like Motherwell and Hearts, will have the disadvantage of travelling for the second leg. Their qualifying route produces a minimum of €1.1m if they go out, as they have played one round fewer than Hibs and Motherwell, while reaching the Conference League phase would give Rangers minimum earnings of €6.2m, courtesy of their stronger UEFA coefficient.
Hearts
Hearts regained some pride after their 6-1 first-leg defeat in Portugal equalled the heaviest loss in their European history, matching the 5-0 defeat by Tottenham in 2011.
Tómas Magnússon gave them a 77th-minute lead at Tynecastle, but Dodi Lukébakio equalised almost immediately. The 1-1 draw made it 7-2 on aggregate, but the performance offered encouragement that Hearts are on the right track under new boss Wouter Vrancken.
Rapid Vienna await in the Conference League play-off, with the first leg at Tynecastle net week. The second leg has been moved from the Thursday to the Wednesday due to a city clash in Vienna that night. Hearts are guaranteed at least €1.275m if they are eliminated there, while qualification raises their minimum earnings to roughly €4.9m.
Celtic
Celtic will begin their European campaign next week, joining the other four, and will face LASK in the Champions League play-off. They are already guaranteed a place in the Europa League phase if they lose, with projected minimum earnings of about €13m, rising to around €29m if they reach the Champions League. Their minimum Europa League earnings are boosted by the €4.29m fee paid to Champions League play-off losers, which they would receive should LASK progress.
UEFA Rankings
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