STEADY EDDIE
CELTIC 3 ROSENBORG 1
Edouard double gives Celts two-goal cushion for second leg in Norway
BRENDAN RODGERS admitted it was a joy to watch Celtic correct his mistake.
The Parkhead boss was thrilled to see his side last night roar back from a perilous position and establish a crucial two-goal advantage
ahead of next week’s second-leg crunch with Rosenborg in Trondheim.
Celtic were reeling after falling 1-0 down but Rodgers altered the shape of his team and two Odsonne Edouard strikes and an Olivier Ntcham special after a tactical tweak turned the tide.
Rodgers took the responsibility for the dodgy beginning and savoured the way his players displayed calm heads and clinical performances to rescue the situation.
He said: “When the game started we tried to work the same way as we had done through the pre-season without trying to change so much.
“That has worked very well when Moussa (Dembele) has played, so we tried to do a similar thing by putting James (Forrest) up there.
“For the first 20 or 25 minutes I wasn’t overly happy with the shape of the team and that was my fault.
“Everyone could see it. We tried to play Jamesie on the inside and couldn’t get him onto the ball.
“We just adapted it and went into a much cleaner shape that the players know. We could then press the game and attack from a better base. The fluency was better.
“Then the quality comes through. We scored three very good goals and could have had a few more.
“The last 15 minutes of the first half and the whole of the second half the players were absolutely magnificent.
“It was a real demonstration of their maturity, staying calm under that bit of pressure.
“You could probably sense a wee bit of apprehension in the crowd when it went to 1-0 but the team is maturing and evolving all the time.
“We have a lot of young players in there for this stage of the season. But it was a joy to watch the team this evening and not just all the good stuff either.
“Dealing with all the adversity in the game is a part of it. It is not always clean and pure and scoring five or six goals.
“You judge your team when they’re down as well. They were fantastic at that and really showed that mentality to win the game well. By the end we could have had five or six goals.
“I sat here after a 0-0 last year happy and I thought we could have been better. This year I’m sat in a much-better place with a two-goal advantage but we know it’s going to be tough over there.”
Rini Coolen, installed as Rosenborg interim boss last week after the Norwegian club controversially sacked their manager Kare Ingebrigsten, admitted Celtic were superior but refused to concede the tie ahead of the return leg.
The Dutchman said: “Celtic were the better team and deserved to win, no doubt about that. But we will not give up.
“It will be very difficult, very tough. Celtic are at a different level but that doesn’t mean a team wins.
“We are at home and play in front of our home crowd which will help us a lot so we will not give up and you never know.”