BRENDAN RODGERS last night admitted his Celtic team found themselves on the ropes in Astana but praised their resilience which saw them get through a testing night and into the Champions League group stage.
A final aggregate scoreline of 8-4 could not begin to tell the full story of a remarkable second leg which saw the Scottish champions 4-1 down with plenty of the second-half to go, before they rallied and an eventual 4-3 defeat was more than enough to take them through.
It was an incredible 45 minutes, one which reminded Rodgers of the drama a year ago against Hapoel Be’er Sheva and he was a mightily relieved man that despite some tense moments, his players got the job done.
Rodgers said: "Welcome to the annual Be'er Sheva moment. In terms of the game I thought we were very good in attack and started the game well. We were unfortunate with the first goal and the deflection. It could have been defended better but we were unfortunate. And that gave them a little bit of momentum and a little bit of hope early on.
“We then get the equaliser, which is a fantastic goal. And, of course, we get to half-time. I said to the players I didn’t think we were playing consistently well enough in the game. We were not compact enough when we had the ball so we couldn’t make enough passes with the ball. We were working to plug holes but I have to give credit to the players because they were on the ropes but regained their composure and Olivier Ntcham and Leigh Griffiths got the goals.
“You have to give credit to Astana. They changed their shape and went to 3-5-2 with two players up front. They attacked and put risk into the game and all of a sudden we find ourselves on the ropes a little bit. When momentum changes like that in football it can be very tough to turn it back around. I must give credit to the players. At 4-1 you can be blurred in that moment.
“Across the whole campaign I’ve had midfield players playing centre-half, midfielders playing as strikers, right backs playing centre-half. So, the players have done absolutely magnificent and it’s another good learning game for us because we would want to be better than that defensively.”
The most important thing for Rodgers and his club is that for the second time in 12 months they have negotiated their way through qualifying and all eyes know will be on the draw on Thursday to see who they face in the group stage.
And the manager’s aim is to be in at least the Europa Cup come the turn of the year.
Rodgers said: “It’s a night to celebrate. It’s a wonderful achievement to gain qualification and get ourselves into the draw for the group stages. The first thing was to qualify. It’s a big achievement with the route that we have to take and the games we have to play. That was the first target.
“What we would like to do is try to progress this year and be in European football after Christmas. We are coming into the highest level and we are going to play against some fantastic players. Players are only going to improve and get better and get better experience.
“If we can then be in European football after Christmas that will be another great step forward for us. We look forward to the draw now. It’s brilliant for the club, it’s absolutely brilliant for Glasgow the city. It’s not just about the football, it’s about the nation and what it does economically and commercially and what it brings into the city of Glasgow. Champions League football, business and everything. It’s fantastic.”
Asked when he relaxed and felt the danger has passed, Rodgers said: “I felt it when the second goal went in. That was a good moment for us. We turned the momentum of the game then. Once we got the second goal the calmness came back into the team and that leads then to the third goal when we play our way through the pressure.
“We have come through this qualification phase really well. We had to withstand that period when teams can crumble away but in the end we had 19 attempts at goal and dominated possession, but I still want us and expect us to be better.”
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