RODGERS’ CELTIC JOIN MONACO IN CHAMPS LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

GLASGOW: Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has urged supporters to be patient after they needed a stoppage-time penalty to edge past FC Astana in their Champions League third-round qualifier.

The Hoops earned a 2-1 win thanks to a penalty from Moussa Dembele with the game on the verge of extra time after Leigh Griffiths’ first-half stoppage-time penalty had been cancelled out by a second-half strike from Agim Ibraimi.

The result sealed a 3-2 aggregate win over the Kazakhstan side, who finished with just nine men on the pitch after Igor Shitov was sent off for his costly foul on Dembele and Dmitri Shomko saw red for his protest at the awarding of the penalty.

Former Liverpool boss Rodgers praised the Celtic support from their backing during the game but also asked them to trust in his game plan after claiming the players felt the tension coming from the stands as the Hoops probed for a second-half winner.

“The supporters were unbelievable for us tonight but the only thing I would say to them is I think they need to show a little bit of patience as well,” Rodgers, who joined the Glasgow giants in May, said.

“I’m a Celtic supporter. I know what they want and how desperately they want it but they put the players on edge at times tonight.”