The Bhoys have positioned themselves nicely heading into their last quartet of matches before the Champions League league phase concludes, earning four points in seven matches.Undoubtedly, the highlight for Celtic was their win over Leipzig, but a solid point away to Atalanta and an opening day thumping of Slovan Bratislava have culminated in raising optimism levels to an all-time high.
Nevertheless, there have also been lessons to learn this campaign, including the Bhoys’ heavy defeat in Dortmund on matchday two.
Brendan Rodgers knows no complacency can be present during his side’s league phase run-in, especially against an outfit like Club Brugge, who are sucker punch specialists.With everything at stake tonight, the Irishman has delivered a classy evaluation of where Celtic are at and why the experiences they have taken from the competition have enabled substantial growth.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the tie, Rodgers hailed his players for overcoming adversity in Dortmund to put themselves in a handy position to secure knockout qualification.
He stated: “Failure is a part of the journey. I said it at the time, and I was probably looked at a bit funny, but it can be that trampoline effect and it can bounce you back even higher. But it’s how you deal with it which is important.“So dealing with the setback that we had that night, you can see where it’s trampolined the players and bounced them forward.
“It’s all in how you react to the difficult moments. This team have shown that and proven that and I believe there’s still a lot more to come.”
There is a certain magic with Champions League matches at Celtic Park that is unmistakable, which has already been witnessed this campaign against Slovan Bratislava and Leipzig.
In order to produce lasting memories, supporters have had to rely on their side coming swiftly out of the traps no matter the opponent, something that has been the case at the halfway point.
