Brendan Rodgers didn’t take long to recover from his sudden Celtic departure.
While the Hoops have been chaotically chopping and changing managers, Rodgers has been living his best life in Saudi Arabia.
Callum McGregor was rumoured to be following his ex-boss to the Middle East, but that talk has now been firmly silenced.
Alongside long-time Celtic assistant John Kennedy and ex-Hoops analyst and blogger Jack Lyons, Rodgers has taken the Saudi Pro League by storm.
But his biggest match yet came on Thursday evening, against the richest of a very rich bunch, Al-Hilal.
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Ex-Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers suffers late blow in Saudi Pro League
Rodgers is unbeaten since joining Al-Qadsiah, a recently-promoted club from the young city of Khobar.
They are no minnows, though. They are owned by the nation’s biggest oil company, and signed Argentine-born Italy striker Mateo Retegui for €65 million in the summer.
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Rodgers replaced experienced Spanish coach Michel at the helm, and in a Martin O’Neill-style turnaround, won seven of his first eight matches.
This brought Al-Qadsiah from the wilderness into the title race. Rodgers even defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr on the incredible run.
A win over Al-Hilal could’ve taken them within four points of the summit of the table, but things got off to the worst possible start when Ruben Neves scored in the eighth minute.
Rodgers’ side immediately fought back through an equaliser from Nahitan Nandez, making the interval level.
Al-Hilal were awarded a penalty early in the second period, but one-time Celtic target Koen Casteels rescued the hosts with a save.
Rodgers was in dreamland when Julian Quinones put them ahead, and a special victory was just minutes away… but hopes of a win were shattered by a 90th-minute equaliser.
It was, in fairness, a stunning hit by Saudi legend Salem Al-Dawsari, best known for his sublime goal in a 2-1 win over Argentina at the 2022 World Cup.
In a thrilling finish to the encounter in Khobar, but despite late calls for a penalty for Rodgers’ side, they had to settle for a commendable 2-2 draw.
He remains unbeaten after nine games.
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Asked about the Saudi rumours this week, Hoops captain McGregor said: “No, no, I’m here. Even more determined [to stay at Celtic]. Even more, because of what’s happened.
“We’ve had a difficult spell, we’re used to winning, then things don’t go your way.
“So, now you have to show everyone that you want to be a winner and you want to stay and you want to fight, and you want to make the club successful.
“Yeah, that’s the message.”
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