Brendan Rodgers guided Celtic to their first ever matchday one victory in the UEFA Champions League and their biggest ever group-stage win as the Hoops defeated Slovan Bratislava 5-1 at Paradise. It was a stunning performance from the Hoops, with the goals coming from Liam Scales, Kyogo, Arne Engels, Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah. The atmosphere inside Celtic Park was, as always, electric, and supporters were served up a feast of football from the Scottish champions, who could well have scored more than the five goals they did in the course of the match. Not surprisingly, Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the outcome, as he told Celtic TV after the game. “To get that scoreline at this level is a massive testament to the players and their mentality,” the Celtic manager said. “I thought it the first-half we created some good chances and obviously got in front, but we weren’t as quick with the ball and our positioning – the structure was out of sync a little bit. ‘But we were still good value and had some other good chances, but in the second half – Wow!’ “Just the intensity and the hunger and the greed of the team, and then the quality for the goals was absolutely superb, so it was a great night for everyone. “If you look at the statistics in the game, that backs up the scoreline as well, and I thought in every aspect of the game we were excellent.“You have to respect that no matter how dominant we were, with about 60% possession, that it’s Champions League level, so you have to expect you’re going to have to work, you’re going to have to shift, to slide, and you’re going to have to be brave, and the players did that magnificently.” Despite a strong first-half showing, Celtic only had Liam Scales’ header from a corner to show for it, but they pressed home their advantage after the break with a breathtaking display of football. Kyogo scored within two minutes of the restart, the impressive Arne Engels scored from the penalty spot, while Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah added to the scoreline. And the Celtic manager emphasised the contribution made by every player tonight – the ones who started the game and those who entered the fray at various stages of the match. ‘Everyone contributed to a great performance and obviously the atmosphere – that’s why it’s renowned as the best in the world.’ “The supporters really pushed the team and I’m so proud for everyone. “We won our last game in the Champions League here and now we’ve won the first one so it’s back-to-back, which is nice. “So it’s just step by step, building that confidence and building that mentality at this level, and games like tonight we want to show that we’re a really difficult team to play against and tonight we’ve done that.”
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