Rodgers hails complete Celtic performance

CELTIC ma nager Brenda n Rodgers ha i led h i s tea m’s outsta nding display as t hey moved to t he verge of t he Cha mpions L eag ue g roup stages with a 5-0 thrashing of FC Astana in Glasgow.

An own goal from Evgeni Postnikov and two goals from Scott Sinclair either side of half-time had the Hoops cruising to victory, before James Forrest’s strike and a late Igor Shitov own goal rounded off the rout.

It means the Scottish champions will take a commanding advantage to Kazak hstan for the return leg on Tuesday and puts them within touching dista nce of sea ling t heir place in t he lucrat ive group stages for a second successive season.

“We’ve had a number of outstanding performances since I came in but this was a different game and a different occasion,” Rodgers said.

“Every game in this qualification is a pressure game. The pleasing aspect is how the players coped with that – their calmness in possession, how we circulated the ball and how we opened up the spaces and tired Astana out.

“It had everything in it – creativity, pressing, a real good structure to the team and good organisation. Some of our play was outstanding.

“We scored five goals and missed one or two with that. For a Scottish side to do that at this level of competition against a side that a couple of years ago were drawing with Atletico Madrid and Benfica and show that level of composure makes me really proud of the team.

“It was a brilliant performance. Very complete in many aspects of how we work.”

‘Progress is continual’

It was a marked improvement from last season when the Hoops narrowly saw off the Kazakhstan champions 3-2 over two legs in their third round qualification match of the same competition.

And Rodgers, who led his side to an unbeaten domestic season as they collected a treble, praised the progress his side have made since his arrival at Celtic Park last summer.

“It was a great demonstration of the work that the play- ers have made and how they have progressed over the course of the last season,” the Celtic manager said.

“We made a big step forward last year. We had a physical courage to work but over the course of the season we played a game that you have to be able to play under pressure.

“That progress is continual and I think you see tonight the marked difference from when we won here last season 2-1.

“There is a maturity in performance, an excitement and creation of chances.

“Tactically the players are thinking about football. It’s not just about going out and running about and hoping.

“We are seeing t hat development and it is great to see young Scottish players in par- t icula r hav i ng t hat composu re, qua l it y, hu nger a nd desire to play the game to that level.”