Brendan Rodgers has hailed his ‘write-off’s’ for earning a 1-1 draw away to Astana.
Atletico Madrid, Benfica and Galatasaray all drew in the Astana Arena in last season’s Champions League group stage with Rodgers pleased to see his side sit in that bracket.
Before the match Celtic had been hammered by injuries with Erik Sviachenko added to the crocks list that already included Dedryck Boyata, Jozo Simunovic, Kristoffer Ajer and Stefan Johansen.
Despite that injury list, a five hour time difference and a plastic pitch Celtic were well worth their draw with Rodgers thrilled by the attitude and ability of his side.
“It was an outstanding result for us,” the Irishman said. “The resilience and mental strength that we have built up in pre-season came in to effect.
“We were written off before the game. People had their opinion and felt we would do well to come back without losing.
“It was a result against the odds – according to many but the players deserved a lot of credit for showing immense passion and fight – and it was a wonderful goal from Leigh.
“We are disappointed with the goal we lost but we showed great mentality after that and scored an outstanding goal.
“It was very important to get the away goal. That was vital for us but we still have a bit of work to do to get through.
“It’s only half-time. It doesn’t feel like a win – it’s just a very good result. The mentality pleased me most. The way we came back.”
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