Brendan Rodgers picked out Scott Brown for extra praise following Celtic’s 1-1 draw away to Borussia Monchengladbach.
The hoops skipper is on an incredible run of form at the moment, treating the stars of Gladbach and Manchester City in the same way that he dismisses his domestic rivals.
Brown is becoming a legend in Football Manager circles with his Champions League stats but it’s his real life gaffer that is most impressed.
The born-again internationalist has suffered through the bulk of Celtic’s Champions League away day failures but refused to contemplate another hard luck story against Gladbach.
Looking back on how his side performed Rodgers explained: “I said to them afterwards, it’s much better to play like that than sit in, camp in and defend for what seems like two days. I want the team to come and have the confidence and belief to dominate, create chances and play with aggression. I felt they did that last night.
“The likes of Scotty (Brown) was outstanding again in the middle of the field, and I felt that Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic were very good in there with him.
“I thought the front players were a real threat. We should have won the game but the night was really positive for Scottish football and for Celtic in particular. We have played against a top side in these back-to-back games and this time we were the better team.”
Last night’s display was in stark contrast to the frustrating 2-0 defeat from Gladbach at Celtic Park.
The hoops were second best in every area of the park that night with two mistakes from Kolo Toure gifting the Germans full points.
Reflecting on the improvement in his side Rodgers added: “We were second best at home but I felt we showed a marvellous response to that. To come away, which is new for a lot these players, and to have that courage to play, to build the game and to create opportunities was very good to see.
“Hopefully, we can continue to build on this. The competition for us was about improvement and you can see that in the team from the last game.”
Rodgers now faces his biggest comparison when he sets his side out to play Barcelona following a 7-0 defeat at the Nou Camp on Matchday 1.
