PAULO BERNARDO has handed Brendan Rodgers a major problem before Celtic’s Champions League encounter against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.
The Portuguese playmaker replaced Reo Hatate in the starting line-up for the Premiership outing against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park last night.
Bernardo was a stand-out in an outstanding performance from the champions as they thrashed their Perth rivals 6-0 to maintain their 100 per cent record since the kick off to a campaign that promises so much.
THAT GRINNING FEELING…Paulo Bernardo displays his sheer joy after netting No.2 in Celtic’s six-goal romp against St Johnstone.
The classy midfielder, who cost £3.5million when he joined on a permanent basis from Benfica in the summer following his impressive loan season, netted a sublime strike to add to Kyogo Furuhashi’s opener in the first-half.
And Bernardo caught the eye again with a cheeky dink onto the head of Daizen Maeda for the Japanese speedster to blitz an effort beyond the helpless Ross Sinclair for the fifth goal.
The all-round showing from the middle-of-the-park operator must make him a serious contender to start in the Westfalstaion in two days’ time.
He was a 77th-minute substitute for Hatate in the first outing in Europe’s elite competition as Rodgers’ men raced to a convincing 5-1 triumph over Slovan Bratislava at Parkhead.
Now there could be a reversal of the roles with Bernardo playing the entire 90 minutes-plus in Perth with the Japanese ace having to wait until the 66th minute before being introduced for Arne Engels who is a certainty to face the Germans in Dortmund.
Looking ahead to the challenge against the Bundesliga giants, the 22-year-old maestro said: “It’s the Champions League, so it will be a great game for us, a great experience and we will do our best to get a great result, too.”
JOY BHOYS…Paulo Bernardo celebrates with Daizen Maeda after his eye-catching strike.
Reflecting on the win against the Saints, Bernardo, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “It was a nice game, a nice result.
“We came here with the objective of the three points and we got the three points and had a wonderful game.
”It’s a lot of hours of hard work. We started very well and we want to keep going, so we do our max effort in training to keep in the games, and that’s what motivates us.
“It’s always good when we help the team with numbers, so I’m really happy.
“I feel confident and I’ll keep working.”
