Brendan Rodgers says that Celtic aren’t in Madrid to be the ‘support act’ to Atletico, as he looks to guide the club to their first ever win on Spanish soil with a famous victory at the Civitas Metropolitano.
Rodgers feels that his team have earned the respect of teams from more illustrious leagues like La Liga with their performances so far in the Champions League, and he is now desperate to back that up with a statement win against an opponent who will go into the match as heavy favourites.
Just as they did when they defeated Lazio in 2019 to get their first win ever in Italy though, Rodgers feels that Celtic are ready to smash through another glass ceiling in the Spanish capital.
“Absolutely,” Rodgers said. “Went to the capital [and won], we’re in the capital here.
“Listen, we understand and we respect and we saw in the first game what a really good team they are and the system will challenge you.
“You really have to defend well as a team against their front two, but why not?
“We are not out here just to be a support act. Some of the comments made by Diego after the first game, we maybe surprised the other teams we have played because of the intensity and the quality and the football.
“Okay, we might not be in the top European leagues, but we can play to a level that can be dangerous.
“Clearly the level is a huge challenge. Listen, maybe British teams, not just Scottish teams, may have felt inferior from a technical level, but I don’t think that is the case [with this team].
“You look at the players over the last campaign, they played very well. You look at them in this campaign and on a technical and tactical level, they have been very, very good. And I think it is just sometimes you are waiting for that result.
“You also [know], with the greatest respect, it is the very highest level of European competition, which is also a challenge.
“But our belief is also to into games believing that we can win and play how we want to.”
