Brendan Rodgers: We produced a mature performance to get a great result

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Celtic F.C.

·22 gennaio 2025

Brendan Rodgers: We produced a mature performance to get a great result

One of Brendan Rodgers’ objectives on returning to Paradise was to see improvement on the European stage for Celtic. And his team has continued to grow at that level, witnessed by this season’s UEFA Champions League campaign.

Three wins, three draws and just one defeat has seen the Hoops progress to the play-off stage of the prestigious competition with one league-stage match to spare, and the Celtic manager is delighted at the progress of his team.

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Wednesday night’s 1-0 win over Swiss side, YB Bern, courtesy of a late own goal, was a victory that the Hoops thoroughly deserved and it ensures another round of European football for the club.

And speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Brendan Rodgers said: “It’s a brilliant result and I’m very pleased with the performance and maturity in it.

“I though in the first half we were outstanding – our penetration and our ability to get in behind – and we were unfortunate with the goals that were disallowed.

'Then we probably got that little bit of luck that we never had in the first half with the goal.'

“I just said to the guys afterwards, that in the 85th minute of the game, they kept their composure, they stuck with the plan, they played the ball through the thirds and then it was an absolutely unbelievable pass from Reo to get us in.

“Adam makes the run and then we get the wee bit of fortune at the end of it, but I thought we thoroughly deserved that and thoroughly deserved the three points.

“I thought the composure of the team was really good. We were so good in the first half.

"We don’t score the penalty but I thought the reaction was good and we responded well. We stayed calm and got to work again on trying to play.

“And then we just kept persevering in the second half and then, eventually, we got our reward.”

The first-half saw three disallowed Celtic goals and a missed penalty for the home side, while Auston Trusty hit the bar in the second-half.

At the other end, Kasper Schmeichel produced a stunning double save when it was still goal-less, while he was prevented a last-gasp equaliser when the Hoops were down to 10 men.

The winning goal came with five minutes remaining when Reo Hatate threaded the ball through to Adam Idah, and though his initial effort was saved, it was bundled into the net by a YB Bern defender.

“This is the highest level of club football, where there’s top players in every team and threats in every team,” he said, “but for us we’ve built through it and played some great football, but showed different ways to win as well.

“When we’ve had to dig in, we’ve been able to do that. Defensively we’ve been good at the level bar one game, so overall, there has been a lot of progress and I’m really pleased with that.

“So we can now look forward to one more game, see who we get in the play-offs and give everything when that comes.”