Brendan Rodgers on Celtic UCL playoff against Bayern or Madrid after Villa defeat
29/01/2025
uefa24
29/01/2025
uefa24
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00:00It was a brilliant game to be involved in. The word that strikes me at the moment is
00:23pride. We've come into a team that over the last couple of years have been at the highest
00:31level in the Premier League and obviously you see them in Europe. We play with so much
00:37courage in the game. We actually start well, we show confidence and authority with the
00:43ball and then within a few minutes they get the first goal, a quick second goal and then
00:47there's a question asked of you as a team. Your spirit, your mentality, character, everything
00:52about you at this level. But the players continue to play. We started getting contention
01:00because I think the first ten minutes rocked us a wee bit but then once we started to get
01:04our aggression back in the game and make contact in our pressing then that gave us the opportunity
01:10and obviously scored two very good goals. I think overall to take the game right to
01:20injury time within the balance was a great effort by the players. You're obviously always
01:26disappointed to lose but we played a big part in a really good game.
01:31It didn't look like you were going to be able to take it to injury time right at the end of the match, that opening five minutes being 2-0 down. What we saw after that, I think it's fair to say, was tangible evidence of the progress you guys as a team, as a club, have made at this level this season?
01:48Yes, absolutely. I think that was always the objective, coming in and being really competitive at this level.
01:59I think in these eight games we've built a really good foundation. You see the work that we need to do to improve the squad, to really be able to sustain that challenge.
02:10We're having to bring on some young players that haven't played for Celtic before, never mind playing in the Champions League.
02:18Like you say, over the course of the eight games, we've qualified on merit and showed some great football along the way.
02:27Aston Villa hadn't conceded a goal in their home games in the Champions League, so for us we carried the threat right the way through the night.
02:36We're really proud of the team. The supporters gave us a great back-in and it's just unfortunate that we conceded the fourth late on with a mistake.
02:46Brendan, the way the team fought back from two goals down, how much belief can that give you that you can cut it with the big boys, especially when you come into this play-off round next month?
02:55I think we've showed, apart from the Dortmund game where we were well beat on the night, but we learnt from that, got over the set-back.
03:06We've gone away to Atalanta and kept a clean sheet and we've come here tonight, we're in the game.
03:13We know it's either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the next round, so that'll be obviously a huge challenge for us, but I think we're building confidence at this level
03:22and showing that we're a team that can play and can work well and make it really, really difficult for the top teams.
03:29Just on that, Bayern Munich doesn't get much tougher than that, does it, Brendan?
03:34Well, clearly it's a great reward for the work that the team and the club have done.
03:40Whoever we play, they're clearly top-level teams.
03:49Yeah, they've done really well.
03:51You can see we're tired a little bit, naturally, because we're not playing so much, but those are two big goals for them.
04:01Actually, how we created the goals, I thought, were very good.
04:04He's moving into the box, he's made a couple of runs and then he's had to adjust and makes a great finish,
04:11and then the second one's a great team goal and he is where he should be in the box for the squared pass and we make the finish.
04:17So, yeah, I thought it was a handful all night and that'll be big for his confidence.
04:24Brendan, I think a smoke bomb wasn't one of the goals, but you hope there's no consequences to that?
04:30No, I'm not even thinking, I'm just talking about the football.
04:34Brendan, when you put 2-0 down in half an hour, the United cash got injured, the Covid players were over and you spoke to them, can you give us an example?
04:42No, listen, it's just about staying calm, because it can wobble you.
04:47It's the Champions League game, you're playing against a top, top team now who have finished in the top eight.
04:51You see their quality, you see everything that they have, but we actually started the game well and then, obviously,
04:59in those opening minutes, played with authority, got through the pitch, but then their wee bit of quality,
05:04maybe a wee bit of indecision in our press obviously led to the goals.
05:09So, it's just about keeping the calmness, keeping the belief and the players, as I said,
05:16I was very proud of them tonight, how they reacted to that, because that's a game that can really get away from you,
05:20especially in the atmosphere, and how good a side Aston Villa are.
05:24How much do you think the team will be better prepared for whoever is next player on the wheel, given the way they have performed since that setback?
05:36Yes, it's just experience, isn't it? I think the experience that we've gained will have given the players confidence.
05:43Whoever you play in this next stage, clearly it's going to be a massive challenge,
05:47but we know we can make it really difficult for teams, and like we see tonight, right to the very end,
05:55we're in the game, we're in with the possibility of winning.
05:59So, we can take great confidence from that, with how we've played, and then see where it can take us.
06:05Brendan, now that the group stage is finally finished, what have you just made conclusions of this new format?
06:14I've really enjoyed it. I think playing different teams, going to different cities, I think it's been really, really good.
06:22I'm pretty sure there was probably a real level of excitement tonight, with people watching on the screens,
06:27and who they might get, and everything else. You'd sense the supporters there after the game,
06:33Aston Villa qualifying into the top eight, so it's a great occasion for them.
06:38I've really enjoyed the variance in the games, the different levels, but every game at this level is really tough,
06:48and I'm just proud of how we've performed, because Scotland gets a wee bit of stick in its football.
06:56I think you can clearly see that we have teams that have got courage to play,
07:02and we're nowhere near the resource levels of any teams in the Premier League,
07:07but we can still be competitive, and that's what you want to be.
07:11So, the format has been really good, I've really enjoyed it, and I'll now get ready for the next challenge.
07:18Okay, cheers. Thank you.