Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is ‘very proud’ of how his players bounced back in the second half of last night’s 1-1 draw with Club Brugge.
The Hoops went behind early doors, thanks to a calamitous moment of madness in which Cameron Carter-Vickers passed the ball into his own net.
The American’s blushes were spared by Daizen Maeda, who, on the hour mark, sprung into life and drew the Bhoys level with a terrific strike into the far corner.
Neither Celtic nor Brugge went on to find a winner after the match went 1-1. Things were somewhat cagey in the closing stages, but Rodgers was satisfied after the full-time whistle.
The Irishman admitted that he was pleased with how his men responded to going a goal behind, especially against high-calibre opposition, while acknowledging things are never going to be plain sailing in Europe: “You won’t be able to always play a perfect game like the Leipzig game,” he said (Sky Sports).
“It’s 20 games now (this season), and we’ve won 16, drawn 3, and lost 1. It shows the mentality is there.
“We’re very proud of them for that second-half mentality. It could’ve been very easy not to play with the courage.
“But they absolutely drew a line under the first half, and it was much better (in the) second half.”
Celtic can take heart from their point against the Belgian champions. The Bhoys didn’t fold and adequately responded to going a goal behind.
It isn’t controversial to say that Hoops teams of the past 10 to 15 years would have lost that game last night.
The Bhoys built a solid foundation for themselves in the first half of the league phase, and now, with eight points from five games, they can look ahead to the closing stages with inherent optimism of making the knockouts.
