How do Celtic fare in Scottish football after defeats in Europe?

Celtic suffered a heavy defeat in the Nou Camp last night. Picture: Getty

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Despite humbling losses in Gibraltar and Kazakhstan earlier in the campaign, Celtic were riding a wave of momentum going into last match with Barcelona, and to say they came back down to earth with an almighty thud would be putting it mildly.

There’s little doubt the mauling - Celtic’s worst in Europe ever - will put a dent in their collective confidence, but how will that affect the team when they return to domestic football with a trip to Inverness CT this Sunday?

Well, if recent history is anything to go by, it won’t have a negative effect at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. Celtic are undefeated in their last 16 domestic games that have immediately followed a loss in Europe. Instead of the disappointment clouding their heads and distracting them from the task at hand, it seems to galvanise the squad.

This spells trouble for Inverness CT. Twice in the space of the same month last season Celtic went to the Highlands after a European loss and twice they left with three points: a 4-1 win at Ross County and 3-1 victory at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium.

Although, there is another potential omen that could favour the hosts, seeing as Inverness have the distinction of being one of only two sides* to take points off Celtic in this sequence. And you don’t have to travel far to find the side who last defeated Celtic immediately after a European loss. Neil Lennon’s troops were three days removed from exiting the Champions League knock-out stages to Juventus when Ross County turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 win, a match that took place all the way back in March 2013.

*The other being Dundee.

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