When Celtics play Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, manager Brendan Rodgers wants his squad to demonstrate that they can compete with the best in the world.
The Hoops are searching for their first Champions League point after falling to a last-minute goal against Lazio and losing to Feyenoord with nine men after being denied the lead twice due to a close offside call.
“We are playing one of the best teams in the world and one of the top clubs in the world,” stated Aaron Rodgers.
“Our goal is to be able to compete against the world’s top teams. Although we don’t have to be the greatest in the world, we do want to be capable of competing with them.”
With a commanding performance in Sunday’s 4-1 victory over Hearts, Celtic warmed up.
According to Rodgers, “The players will enter it with great confidence.”
It will be a fantastic atmosphere, and we’ll aim to start with quality and enthusiasm before coming up with a plan.
“It’s terrible for the guys that they didn’t learn anything. Considering that we played Feyenoord with nine men in the last game, which was really disappointing, the performance level in the first two games has been good.
“But a great chance to play against a really good team and see if we can get our first points on the board.”
Matt O’Riley, the in-form midfielder, will enter the match with optimism after scoring his sixth goal of the year in spectacular fashion at Tynecastle.
“Anything is possible if we play well, take our chances, and believe we can do it,” stated the 22-year-old.
“We have seen that before in previous Champions League games in the past, I think performance is definitely there, it’s just a matter of being ruthless in both boxes to be honest.”
Leave a Reply