“The scoreline didn’t quite reflect the game,” Brendan Rodgers

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The Celtic Star

·25 de julio de 2025

“The scoreline didn’t quite reflect the game,” Brendan Rodgers

After Celtic’s pre-season wake up call against Ajax, Brendan Rodgers stressed that the club must be bold in their approach to signings…

Raul Moro of Ajax competes for the ball with Anthony Ralston of Celtic FC during the Como Cup match between Ajax and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 24, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Celtic paid the price for a second half capitulation in Como, suffering a 5–1 defeat to the Dutch giants.

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Despite an impressive first half display following notable friendly victories over Sporting Lisbon and Newcastle United, Rodgers is not getting carried away with pre-season results.

However, the Celtic boss conceded that the team must keep moving forward and strengthen the squad before the new season kicks off.

Aaron Bouwman of Ajax celebrates his goal with his team-mates during the Como Cup match between Ajax and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 24, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Speaking via Daily Record, Rodgers said: “Yes, it depends what your ambition is. If your ambition is to really progress and push forward, then we need to improve the squad.”

“But I can’t fault the players. The players that are here, they’ve been working so well, so hard and you see some of the play and how they work has been very, very good. However, if you want to progress, then, as I said, you need to bring in quality and that’s something that we hopefully can do.”

Although frustrated by the last 30-minute showing in Italy, the Irishman is not about to overreact.

A general view of the Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium during the Como Cup match between Ajax and Celtic FC at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on July 24, 2025 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Rodgers added: “I think the scoreline didn’t quite reflect the game. I think that the first 60 minutes we played a lot of really good football with physicality, we broke through their pressure, scored one, could have had more.”

“I just thought the last 30 minutes, we’ve pushed the players really hard in the pre-season, so it looked a wee bit leggy. But that aside, we should keep the ball better and can be better in duels, so there’s no doubt we lost out on that.”

“Then the two final goals are probably a consequence of that. There were enough really good moments in the game, but certainly the last 30 minutes, we would want to be better. I think that’s the nature of a pre-season. It’s designed to grow and by the end of it, you’ve had really good tests.”

Conor Spence

Read this – The backstory to Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered the late David Potter’s last ever Celtic book, Celtic in the Eighties, which will be published on the fifth day of September by Celtic Star Books. The link to pre-order your copy is below…

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, out 5 September 2025. Available to pre-order now.

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