Celtic’s 3–1 win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam has drawn widespread praise, and one of the most striking reactions came from inside the home dressing room.
His comments offer rare insight from an opponent who felt the full weight of Celtic’s best European away performance in years.
Martin O’Neill’s side recovered from an early setback to dominate large stretches of the game, moving the ball with purpose and pressing Feyenoord into repeated mistakes.
Valente’s midfield battle with Callum McGregor, Arne Engels and Reo Hatate became increasingly one-sided as Celtic grew in belief. By the second half, the Dutch side were struggling to escape their own half while Celtic dictated the tempo.
The win, Celtic’s first in the Netherlands since 2001, has breathed life back into their Europa League campaign.
But it also underlined how sharply O’Neill’s interim spell has improved the team’s confidence, structure and intensity. For Feyenoord, the contrast could not have been clearer, and Valente did not shy away from that reality when reflecting on the night.
Valente said: (TCW), “Celtic made it very difficult for us.
“Their midfielders were able to knock the ball around in triangles and kept control of the game.
“We would have liked to have done that too, but we kept passing the ball back.
“The way we are playing right now is just not the Feyenoord way.
“We took the lead, but I think our heads dropped when Celtic scored and we let them take command of the game.
“Of course, there’s a lack of confidence now and you can see that in the things we do.
“We don’t have the courage we had at the beginning of the season and that’s because of our recent results.”
Valente’s comments show just how much Feyenoord struggled to match Celtic on the night, and how clearly the visitors took control once they found their rhythm.
His admission that Celtic “took command” after the equaliser reflects what was obvious throughout the game, O’Neill’s side grew in confidence, settled quickly after the setback and dictated the tempo from that point on.
Valente’s point about Celtic’s midfield triangles also highlights how effective the visitors were in possession. Hatate, McGregor and Engels moved the ball sharply, kept Feyenoord chasing shadows and gave Celtic a grip of the match that the home side couldn’t disrupt.
While Feyenoord’s lack of confidence was a factor, Celtic’s work rate and quality played a huge part in forcing errors and unsettling a team normally comfortable on the European stage. Valente’s honesty makes clear how difficult Celtic made the night for them.
For Celtic, hearing that level of respect from an opponent at De Kuip is another sign of progress. It shows the win was about more than the scoreline, it was about how convincingly they performed and how much belief it restored.
With Wilfried Nancy expected to arrive soon, the challenge now is to keep building on that momentum.
The display in Rotterdam showed what this group is capable of, and the focus will be on making nights like this the benchmark rather than the exception.
