Brendan Rodgers is turning his Celtic side into something special and the display against Slovak Bratislava has got people taking notice of the Scottish Champions as far as a team to watch in the Champions League this season…
For so long it’s been the same old sorry story on Champions League opening night for Celtic with zero victories in the curtain raiser until Brendan Rodgers sent out his side on Wednesday night to blow the Slovakian champions away with a 5-1 hammering.
And Chris Sutton reckons that this is only the beginning. Writing in his Daily Record column today, the former Celtic striker is clearly seriously impressed by what he has been watching from his old club. Here’s some of what Sutton has stated.
“The other night you couldn’t get fans to leave 20 minutes after the match. It was a seriously impressive performance. They’ll need an even better one in Dortmund in a few weeks. But the key thing for me is the fact they should not fear anyone in this section. Celtic completely imposed their game on Bratislava the other night and it will be really interesting to see if they can do something similar against a top team like Dortmund.
“This is last season’s Champions League finalists remember, so it will be no mean feat. There will be times when they will have to weather the storm, that’s for sure. But you look at the attacking talent and intent in the side, and you would have confidence they can hurt any side – including the likes of Dortmund and Atalanta. Look, I know how tough it is to get points away from home in this competition. In my time at Celtic, we enjoyed some terrific nights at Celtic Park.
“We also had some horror shows on the road. It isn’t any easier these days and you’d got to think anything they can take from Germany and Italy would be a bonus. The fact supporters can even consider it is a measure of how far they have come in the last few months. Even if you go back a few weeks, the loss of Matt O’Riley looked like a huge blow.
“Yet I’d bet no one was even thinking about him the other night. The performance of Arne Engels helped fans get excited about who was there rather than who wasn’t.
The Belgian’s display just proved Rodgers was right to push the boat out to get him. In fact, any scouts or spies in the stands or tuning in would have looked at Engels and felt £11m was a bargain.
“It is in European terms. The likes of Brentford spent £30m on Igor Thiago, Ipswich Town spent double the cost of Engels on Omari Hutchinson. Celtic spent a lot in comparison to Bratislava – but it’s still chicken feed compared to the likes of Borussia Dortmund.
“It’s obvious Engels is a player though. He’s got ability on the ball and he’s got tremendous physicality. He’s barely in the door and looks like he’s been in with the bricks for ages. For the first time in donkeys, Celtic even look a threat from corner kicks with him on dead balls.
“It’s early days and he’s still got to be developed, but he already looks like he’s the perfect fit for Celtic’s model of buying prospects and getting the best out of them before big money offers come calling. Let’s not wish him away just yet though. Engels is a young guy and while he’s shown he’s got terrific temperament with those penalties, there will be a time when his form dips a touch.
“That’s where the squad comes in – and we’ll probably see it this weekend. I’d expect Rodgers to rotate against Falkirk tomorrow. He can’t underestimate a side that is in great form in the Championship and who have already put Hearts out of the Premier Sports Cup.
“But you’d think this is a chance for Auston Trusty to get minutes, along with Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo and Alex Valle. It’s already talking about strength in depth but what that means is the momentum doesn’t drop when the names on the team sheet change. Celtic’s squad will be tested in the coming weeks. They had the A team out the other night but there will be times when someone is injured or suspended and Rodgers will need to shuffle his pack.
“The players coming in need to prove they are more than capable of slotting in and doing a similar job. Celtic ripped up the usual Champions League script the other night – but they need to stick to it on the home front, even if the main characters change.”
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