Brendan Rodgers unveils his crowning Celtic moment in the Champions League as Leipzig see wings clipped

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Delighted Brendan Rodgers claimed clipping the Champions League wings of Red Bull Leipzig was the European highlight of his time at Celtic.

A Nicolas Kuhn double and another from Reo Hatate helped Celtic to claim a famous win over the Bundesliga side and to put them into the mix for qualification. Rodgers has already seen his team dismantle Slovan Bratislava and draw in Atalanta but reckons this statement victory has been the biggest of his two spells. Rodgers said: “Yes, I would say it actually wasn't just the result but the performance. I think we played the game with a great charisma and confidence in how we wanted to play and showed the courage in our pressing.

“Like I said earlier, they've only conceded five goals all season. So to play to that level against that end, (most definitely, we've had some really good results, but that definitely would be the best one.”

Rodgers praised Kuhn who starred against a team where he came through their youth ranks. He believes the young winger is getting better and better. He gave him credit for his goals but then told him he can still do more on the pressing front. He claimed: “Yes, well he's still young. So he still has more to go.

“I thought his pressing could have been better tonight. That's the thing I said to him. Obviously, goal contribution, efficiency, but he's just learning and developing all the time. We've seen his talent. I brought him here and it was about making more goal contributions, being more robust and sustaining playing.

“But I thought it was really exciting tonight when he had the ball and obviously the two goals. It's great for him having walked the Red Bull Leipzig before as a young player and to score again and make that contribution was nice for him.”

Hatate sealed the win and Rodgers thought that was fitting. He added: “I thought he was brilliant, I've got to say. He was so good in the game and it all comes from his work rate. He was aggressive, he was getting inside the pressure and I think with Reo, when he's pushing and pressing like that, then his football comes alive.

“He did that at the weekend against Aberdeen and it's just continuing with that, not slacking off in the work rate because that activates his game when he has the ball. Some of his passing, some of his body work against really good players I thought he was exceptional tonight.”

The win takes Celtic on to seven points, after their victories over Red Bull Leipzig and Slovan Bratislava, along with their point away to Atalanta. Rodgers wants his side to push to make the play-off position over the final four games. He thinks they have now proved they belong at this level.

He stated:“I think we've discovered in the last two games that we can be really competitive. I would have said after the Dortmund game that we would have got four points from Atalanta and Red Bull Leipzig. Probably not too many people would have said we would have done that.

“But I think, as I said, we've discovered that we can play at that level. So it's a great next step. So to have seven points after four games, especially with the level of opponents that we've played, gives us great encouragement.

“It means that in the next four games we can have a real confidence to go and make the play-off stage. But there's still such a long way to go.”

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