Celtic’s 12 match Champions League campaign ended in Manchester last night with the hoops unrecognisable from the side that lost 1-0 to Lincoln Red Imps in July.
Back then you’d have got long odds on Brendan Rodgers side seeing the group phase but despite being handed the toughest group imaginable the hoops have performed with distinction.
After buying up season tickets in their drives the fans have been delighted by the style of football their side has produced, laying to rest the miseries of seasons past as Celtic Park emptied on a weekly basis.
Celtic now have a side capable of going anywhere in Europe and making a game of it, given a more favourable draw they look capable of competing for a top two place and certainly in contention for a Europa League consolation place.
Last night’s effort was one of an evolving team, playing with confidence and able to express themselves in the best of company.
For James Forrest, Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic the experience has been invaluable, the real benefits will come next season when largely the same group of players put their lessons to the test against the best teams in the business.
Look what I did
This was the moment that the Londoner had anticipated when he agreed to an 18 month loan deal with Celtic.
Getting a goal in the Champions League is a real landmark with Roberts showing he has the ability and confidence to perform at any level.
He’s seen how Barcelona do things close up, he made a telling impact away to Borussia Monchengladbach and now he knows that he can find the net, against your parent club, the richest in England makes it that bit more special.
Jinking in off the wing and bang!
What a strike! And to do it against your employers at their own place as well.
Whatever else he’s not lacking in confidence. There has been a few disappointments for Roberts this season but if he gets the ball on the right flank he’s certain to cut inside and line up his left foot for a pop at goal.
His goal showed all the hallmarks of a top class player emerging, even among the best of the best he has belief in himself to deliver the goods.
The team behind the team
They’ve come along way since dinner at the Rodgers’ in the summer.
It would have been easy for the new Celtic boss to discard the club captain and make a statement with someone new but keeping the faith in Scot Brown has been a masterstroke from Brendan Rodgers.
Brown has discovered new reserves of energy taking his game to a new level and become much more than a destroyer. His range of passing has been transformed with nothing lost, he genuinely is a new signing compared to the tired version that finished the last campaign.
Teamwork
There’s a bond across this group and a determination to succeed.
After the miseries of last season’s Europa League campaign this group has been transformed, playing with confidence and growing belief in their ability.
With their 12 match European adventure over they can return to the domestic calendar with the belief that they are moving in the right direction and under a manager that can improve every aspect of their game.
Respect
A picture designed for caption competitions. “Who do you fancy sending me on loan next season big man?”
Rodgers became a figure of fun to an extent towards the end of his Liverpool days but his standing and reputation among his peers his unaltered.
The Irishman’s career is on the way up and that’s what makes him such an obvious fix for Celtic- a club going in the same direction under the control of a manager who most certainly knows the history.
They Just Can’t Get Enough
Once again the Celtic support played their part in last night’s performance taking on the 12th man role in the ghostly atmosphere of the Etihad Stadium.
This was no dead rubber as the fans got behind the team and pushed them on in search of a winner.
Substitutes Leigh Griffiths and Gary Mackay-Steven had chances to win the match but as the supporters headed home up the M6 and M74 they are well aware of the direction that their team is moving in.