BRENDAN RODGERS insists Celtic are well prepared for the daunting task ahead when they take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Group E encounter at the Metropolitano tomorrow night.
The Hoops are bottom of the section with only one point following a draw with the Spanish cracks at Parkhead almost a fortnight ago.
Rodgers has already seen his nine-man team lose unluckily in Rotterdam against Feyenoord in the opener and they were also on the receiving end when Pedro scored the winner for Lazio deep in stoppage-time in Glasgow near the start of last month.
DELIGHT BEFORE DESPAIR…Luis Palma celebrates his ‘goal’ against Lazio before VAR stepped in.
That sickener came after the hosts were denied what looked like a possible winner from Luis Palma in the 81st minute, but VAR images showed a glancing touch from team-mate Daizen Maeda had played the Honduran just offside.
Now Celtic step onto the European tightrope once more against Diego Simeone’s side who twice fought back after conceding goals to Kyogo Furuhashi and Palma for a 2-2 stalemate.
Rodgers, speaking to the Daily Record, said: “We’ve played well in the three games in the competition and, as each game has gone on, the level of performance has been better.
“We haven’t had the breaks that we probably wanted from the games, but in terms of performance level – in particular the last game – we’ve been very, very good.
SPANISH AYES…Kyogo Furuhashi prepares to put Celtic ahead in the 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid.
“But we’re under no illusions. We understand we’re coming to a fantastic stadium to play against a really good team.
“We’re really excited by that challenge. We’re not daft. either. We know this is a game from which we want to get a positive result to take into the final two games.”
