Brendan Rodgers lauded his Celtic team’s dramatic win over Rosenborg as ‘sensational’ as the Champions League group stage moves to within touching distance.
A single James Forrest goal 20 minutes from time in Trondheim sealed Celtic’s progression to the play-off round of the competition on a night when the Scottish champions were forced to dig deep against their fit and plucky Norwegian counterparts.
With the tie balanced on a knife edge after last week’s goalless first leg, the Parkhead side stayed composed in an intimidating atmosphere at the Lerkendal Stadium, and Rodgers was full of praise for those who handled such a high-pressured occasion with a mature and composed display.
“It was a big performance,” he said. “What was important for me was to see the maturity and how we are developing as a team. This time last year I was going into these games with a hope we could get through.
“Now we go into them, and play to that level and with that composure, it was sensational really. I’m delighted with the players and how they managed the game, how they kept their nerve and courage to play.
“I’ve got a trust in them that they understand how we play. We have a way of working. We have identified a style of football and have a philosophy in how we defend and attack. The players are comfortable in it now.
“I was comfortable throughout the game. We haven’t conceded a goal yet. People talk about our creativity but there is a steel too it as well. At 1-0 you can panic a little, but we controlled that element of the game well. Rosenborg never had any chances after that. It’s big applause to our players because we looked like the team who would go on and get another one.”
Forrest was understandably the hero of the hour, but even his manager couldn’t help find some cause for improvement in the winger’s performance.
“He should have had another one,” said Rodgers of a late chance to make it 2-0 which was squandered when one-on-one with Andre Hansen. “James Forrest gets his goal from wide but did a great job centrally. The goal, the composure in possession of the ball, it was brilliant. It’s a huge credit to the players and where they are at now.
“He played the role really, really well. He plays it differently to a standard number nine but you wouldn’t have thought we were playing without a striker.
"This was a game to manage. It could have gone into extra-time. We lost a player early, so that was a sub gone. We wanted to introduce Griff [Leigh Griffiths] but knew he had a maximum of an hour in his legs."
A cluster of familiar faces lie in potential wait for Celtic now ahead of Friday’s play-off round draw. Qarabag, Astana, and Hapoel Be’er Sheva have all been Champions League qualifier opponents in recent years, while they played out a goalless draw with Slavia Prague during the summer. The line-up is completed by Croatian side Rijeka, who Aberdeen defeated in Europa League qualifying two years ago.
“When the draw comes there will be one of those anxious moments over the two legs. But 12 months on it’s a different mentality and feel," said Rodgers.
"Whoever we get, it will be a tough game, but my focus now is on Hearts on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Rodgers’ counterpart, Kare Ingebrigtsen, claimed the tie was lost by Rosenborg back in Glasgow after they missed the best chances they conjured up over both legs.
He said: “We knew it would be close.
“[Our first half performance] will always be a question. If you see these two legs we should have scored in Glasgow, that’s where we lost it. Not today. We had the bigger chances in Glasgow.”
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