BRENDAN Rodgers believes Celtic have given themselves an excellent chance of progressing to the last 16 of the Europa League with their stunning 1-0 win over Zenit St. Petersburg at Parkhead last night.
A Callum McGregor goal with 12 minutes remaining gave the Scottish champions a richly-deserved triumph over their outclassed Russian opponents at a packed Celtic Park.
Rodgers knows that his side, who dominated Roberto Mancini’s team from kick-off and should have won by more goals, face a tough task protecting their lead in the away leg next Thursday.
Read more: Celtic 1, Zenit St Petersburg 0: Callum McGregor strikes in Europa League thriller
However, the level of performance against the Zenit has given the Northern Irishman confidence and he is hopeful that Celtic can score in the Krestovsky Stadium and go through.
“We have given ourselves the advantage,” said Rodgers. “Like in all of these ties, if you can keep a clean sheet it’s important.
“The stability the team had, the concentration, they organised themselves very well in the game, that’s important going into the second leg.
“We know we can score goals. Zenit probably have to come out and chase the game now which could give us more space and opportunities to play and score. Like tonight, it will be another tough game, but we have given ourselves a great opportunity.”
Rodgers added: “We had a couple of great opportunities, It was just that final touch and connection in the box, we maybe needed a wee bit of good fortune to go our way.
“But it was very pleasing, the level of creativity and calmness we showed on the ball. We had the courage to take the ball and work our way through the thirds.
“We looked a real threat in the final third. We could have had one or two more goals but we can’t be that greedy. We have to be happy with the victory. I’m delighted with the performance.
“To play with that confidence and concentration in such a big European game, with so many young players, it bodes well for us going forward.”
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Mancini, the Zenit manager, suggested that not playing a competitive fixture in over two months due to the winter break in Russia had resulted in his team producing a below-par performance.
The Italian believes his team will be better in the rematch and is confident his side can recover from the defeat and go through at the expense of Celtic.
“We knew it would be a difficult game after a month off for the winter break,” said Mancini. “Celtic are a good team and we made some mistakes.
“We have another 90 minutes next week, we can change things, play better and improve up front. We didn’t cause Celtic enough problems tonight.”
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