Celtic no longer Champions League mugs as Brendan Rodgers shares one takeaway he's discovered this season

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers admits his side have taken a giant stride in the right direction in this season’s Champions League after their elimination was confirmed following a 1-1 playoff second leg draw against Bayern Munich.

The Hoops produced a “heroic performance” at the Allianz Arena, but were left disconsolate at full-time after conceding a 94th minute equaliser, which was enough to send Vincent Kompany’s Bundesliga leaders through to the round of 16.

On what was one of the Parkhead club’s greatest European nights turned into late heartache when Alphonso Davies bundled home from close range after visiting keeper Kasper Schmeichel had denied Leon Goretzka just second earlier. That late dagger came after Nicolas Kuhn has pounced on some poor defending to slot low into the net to silence the home crowd in Bavaria after 63 minutes.

Rodgers’ men didn’t look out of place as they searched for a historic first win in Germany, but they would ultimately exit the playoffs in the cruelest way. For Rodgers, the overriding emotion was one of immense pride as he shared what he’s learned about his squad in Europe this term.

Speaking on Amazon Prime Sports, he said: “It was obviously (a suckerpunch), not what the players deserved especially right at the very end. I know they gave so much to the game, played with confidence with the ball. We knew we would have to defend, but we didn’t give away too much.

“I thought our concentration was good and denied them space but then we had quality and some great moves and actually had the best chances in the game, I felt. So a real heroic performance, just unfortunate at the end. It was such a cruel way to not even lose the game but to go out of the competition.

“I think our European credibility has been restored this season. I think we’d built up that from last year, that’s my takeaway from this season. We’ve showed real quality at times. You think of the last time you were in Germany, and the improvements we’ve made now going out tonight.

“We’ve found a nice template now when we haven’t got the ball, to have that security and be compact and tight, and then we can play. Hopefully, come next season, we can improve the squad even more.”

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