It has been a daunting task at times but Brendan Rodgers said Celtic’s confidence is improving in the Champions League ahead of their showdown against Manchester City.
As Celtic prepare to face City at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, the Scottish champions are bottom of Group C and out of qualification calculations but they have enjoyed a steady learning curve.
A thrilling 3-3 draw against City in the reverse fixture and a 1-1 stalemate at Borussia Monchengladbach on matchday five have filled Celtic with confidence.
And despite the fact that Celtic will finish bottom of the group, Rodgers insisted his team can take plenty from their European campaign following a three-year absence from the Champions League group stage.
“When you look and see where a lot of the players have come from, a lot of them haven’t experienced this level so to make that jump, or that first game away, it can be very daunting,” Rodgers said.
“The players have responded and gained confidence. They performed very well in the Barcelona game, even though we lost.
“Borussia away was much better and a good marker for us going away and performing well with that composure and quality, and then of course there was the Manchester City game where we couldn’t have played them at a worse time, where they were high on confidence and had won 10 straight games.
“So really, them coming to Celtic Park on that night when they hadn’t been on a better moment that season and for us to perform like we did, that gave the players not only technical and tactical belief but confidence and, at this level, confidence is vitally important also.”
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