Micah Richards superbly defends Celtic after hearing what people said about Morgan Rogers’ Aston Villa hattrick

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Celtic had secured a Champions League playoff place before heading to England to face Aston Vila.

The Hoops lost their final group game against Aston Villa 4-1 in a thrilling game that almost saw Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers pull off an incredible comeback after going down 2-0 in the first five minutes of the game.

Morgan Rogers put Celtic to the sword after the England international striker’s hattrick helped put the brakes on a superb fightback by Brendan Rodgers’ side as the Premier League secured a last-eight spot in the Champions League.

And whilst the Villa Park striker gets all the plaudits, former Man City star Micah Richards has defended Celtic after hearing what ‘some people say’ about the club after the Bhoys’ Champions League defeat to Aston Villa.

• READ MORE: What Alan Shearer ‘always felt’ about Celtic in the Champions League with Parkhead warning for playoff opponents

Micah Richards’ superb Celtic admission after Morgan Rogers’ Aston Villa hattrick

Richards told The Rest is Football [11m 55s], “I was so happy for him because when he came on the pod, he’s one of the favourite interviews I think we would all agree that we’ve done.

“He was so articulate, but humble, but sort of confident at the same time and he just said he wanted to add goals to his game and to get a hattrick in the Champions League. He’s immense

“And to see the step, he was playing Championship, to go from Championship, then to the Premier League, then the Premier League to the Champions League.

“And yes, some people say, ‘Oh, it’s only against Celtic’, but Celtic are a good team, so yeah, I was made up for him.”

Celtic’s all-time record against English clubs including Man United in Europe

Celtic has a great record against English clubs in Europe which should make the media in England more humble about the Bhoys.

In 21 fixtures against clubs in England’s top-flight, Celtic have lost just five and have recorded wins against the likes of Liverpool and Man United.

Celtic’s European record vs Liverpool

• Played six, won two, drew three, lost one.

The only fixture Celtic lost against the Anfield club was back in 1966 in the Cup Winner’s Cup. Since then the Bhoys are undefeated with the most recent 2-0 away win in the great run to Seville for the 2003 UEFA Cup Final

Celtic’s record vs Man United & Man City in the Champions League

• Man United: Played four, won one, drew one, lost two. Celtic’s most famous victory against Man United was the 1-0 win at Celtic Park after Shunsuke Nakamura’s dramatic late freekick secured a last-16 spot in 2006.

• Man City: Played two and drew two. Brendan Rodgers’ side went up against Pep Guardiola’s star studded side and never lost a single match. The 3-3 draw at Parkhead being the most memorable of the two fixtures.

Celtic’s European record vs Arsenal, Leeds United and three other Premier League clubs

• Arsenal: Played two and lost two. Celtic lost two Champions League qualifiers against the London club 2-0 and 3-1 in 2009.
• Leeds United: Played two, won two. Jock Stein’s Hoops beat Leeds in the semi-final of the European Cup to face Wim Jansen’s Feyenoord in the final of Europe’s top competition.
• Blackburn Rovers: Played two and won two. Martin O’Neill’s Bhoys showed Graeme Souness who the men were in the UEFA Cup second-round back in 2002.
• Nottingham Forest: Played two, drew one & lost one. Celtic played the two-time European Cup winners in the UEFA Cup in 1983 but lost 2-1 in aggregate after securing an impressive 0-0 draw at The City Ground.