Brendan Rodgers has been giving his thoughts in the aftermath of Celtic’s Champions League loss to Lazio.
It proved to be the cruelest of nights for the Hoops on the big European stage as we went down to a last-gasp Pedro winner in a game we had dominated for large spells.
There were plenty of positives to take away in terms of the performance. Yet many Celtic supporters will be feeling that same old disappointment at things going against us in Europe. And it’s pretty sore.
Rodgers agrees that it was a harsh ending to the game.
“I’m bitterly disappointed for everyone — the players and the supporters,” he said on Celtic TV.
“We gave so much to the game. A great start, fantastic goal that we scored. The two goals that we conceded were disappointing. But I thought in the second half we were the team in the ascendancy.
“There was maybe one opportunity that they created but apart from that, we looked like the team that was going to score. Obviously, we got the goal with ten minutes to go and it was just a fraction offside, unfortunately, Daizen got the touch on it.
“But I always felt that if a team was going to win it it was going to be ourselves. The winning goal is bitterly disappointing. You’ve just got to manage the game at that stage. It was a long goal and you’ve just got to make sure you’re secure behind the ball.
“In terms of attitude and mentality, the supporters were brilliant for us. They drove the team on. I’m just disappointed we couldn’t pick up something from the game.”
Rodgers’ assessment is a pretty fair one after what is a tough game to try and analyse. We were the better side by far in the second half and would have been disappointed with a draw.
However, losing the game right at the end was a complete gutter and further evidence of where this team needs to improve. It’s all well and good competing against teams like Lazio but it’s the group table where progress will be measured. We sit bottom with 0 points from our first two matches.
The team must use the pain we’re all feeling to fuel them going forward. We can’t have any more nearly nights in Europe. Results need to arrive soon.
In other news, 3 things we learned as Celtic lose to Lazio
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