Celtic boss makes statement for Atletico Madrid match

Celtic will be taking on arguably their toughest opposition of the season when they welcome Atletico Madrid to Parkhead for matchday 3 of the UEFA Champions League group stage. The Hoops won 4-1 at the weekend against Hearts away at Tynecastle Park and go into the game in good form.

Their results in Europe have left a lot to be desired though. They were the better team against Lazio in almost every department and yet came out on the losing side, thanks to not taking their chances and giving away avoidable goals.

Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, are one of the most in-form teams in all of Europe right now. They have won six straight games across all competitions, sit atop the Champions League group and will go top of the La Liga table if they are able to win their game in hand.

Thus, most people would agree that Atletico Madrid are the better team and have the better players going into their match against Celtic. But that does not mean that Brendan Rodgers’ side could not pull off an upset.

Celtic boss makes statement for Atletico Madrid match

As reported by Sky Sports, Rodgers said:

"“It’s a fantastic team that we’re playing against one of the best in the world, but we don’t have to be the best team in the world to win.“We just need to educate our pressure, play well and you have to raise your luck a little bit as well.“Hopefully everything all combined with the supporters we can have a great night and certainly we’ll be giving everything to get the result we want.”"

Celtic will need a lot of things to go their way if they are to win against Atletico Madrid. But then, they have been showing signs for a long time that this team is capable of competing against the best in Europe.

Where they have lacked is converting good performances into positive results. That is perhaps due to the lack of experience at this level.

There is no doubt that Celtic are underdogs in the game against Atletico Madrid. But they certainly do have players who can make a difference. The key to getting a positive result on the day would be to keep Diego Simeone’s side at bay and make the best of whatever chances come the Hoops’ way.