Rodgers has already won everything there is to win in Scotland, comfortably and repeatedly. Europe was the obstacle he couldn’t overcome with them – until now.
After a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in early October, this was almost unthinkable.
“The ultimate goal is to get to the knockout stages and that’s what they’ve achieved, so it’s going to be a great evening,” former manager Neil Lennon told TNT Sports.
“After the heavy defeat in Dortmund, they are undefeated in the Champions League. It was great character and great skill for them to bounce back from that.”
A five-game unbeaten run saw Celtic through to qualifying with a game to spare, taking the strain off next week’s trip south to face Aston Villa. A victory there may even mean a place in the top eight and direct entry into the last 16.
“I couldn’t imagine him scoring a point against Atalanta, for example, and it really showed that the team had matured,” said former defender Johan Mjallby.
“The balance is better. They know they can’t go crazy and always attack. They are now a bit better at balancing to keep the ball a bit longer. That was key, especially the way she played away. it was very, very good.”
On a similar note, Rodgers added: “This win shows the maturity and development of this squad. You saw where they came from last season, where we played well but didn’t quite hit the switch.”
