BRENDAN Rodgers has expressed hope that being able to start Cameron Carter-Vickers for the first time in the Champions League this season will help Celtic nullify Atletico Madrid strikers Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann tonight and record a much-needed result.
Carter-Vickers missed the Group E opener against Feyenoord in Rotterdam last month because he was sidelined with a hamstring injury and only played for the last half hour of the encounter with Lazio in Glasgow three weeks ago.
The United States internationalist gave the ball away late on in that outing and allowed the Italian visitors, who were fortunate to still be level after being battered in the second half, to score a winner in the fifth minute of injury-time.
However, Rodgers, whose team is in bottom spot in their section after two defeats, feels the availability of the former Spurs centre half increases Celtic’s prospects of getting draw or even a victory against Diego Simeone’s side.
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“Look at the experience this Atletico team has,” he said. “Look at the front two, Morata and Griezmann. Look at the age Griezmann is and the teams he has played for. He has 120 odd games for France, he has played 80 odd games on the spin. He is an incredible talent.
“Then behind that you have Koke, (Marcus) Llorente, (Rodrigo) De Paul, a World Cup winner. It is a fantastic squad and obviously Simeone is a very experienced manager and has done well for the club in the time he has been there.
“Maybe when I was younger I might have been critical of their style. But I think I respect every style now. That is what makes the game. They have quality, they will defend deep, they will have moments of pressure, but, in the main, they protect what they have.
“Then they look to exploit the space from there. It is up to us to try and find a way through that. But when I watch them and see their games, you can only respect the quality they have.”
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Rodgers added: “Listen, it is good to have Cam back. He is obviously an outstanding player for us, very strong at the back.
“To be fair, Liam Scales has done fantastic, he has shown consistency, he has played really well. This is another step for him in his career. But for us at this level you always need your best players available so that collectively you give the team as much opportunity as you can.
“There is a lot of doubt at this level. But I will always believe we can get the results at this level, whether it’s this year or the following year or the following year. It’s something we have to strive towards. That’s something I’ll be relentless in trying to achieve.”
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