Brendan Rodgers has explained why he’s chosen to leave Jota on the bench for tonight’s UEFA Champions League clash against Bayern Munich.
The Portuguese star, who re-joined the Scottish champions during the January transfer window, has slotted seamlessly back into the Celtic squad since his return, already contributing to a goal and an assist from his three appearances.
But he will have to settle for a role as a super sub in this one, with the originally suspended Daizen Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn occupying the starting wide positions.
Speaking to TNT Sports, the Celtic manager said: "We've actually been really good at home in the Champions League this year. We've had that mixture of quality and defending, and obviously the crowd give us a great energy. I think we will need it tonight against a top team.
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"I think initially we had planned without him [Maeda], but to get him available to us is huge because this level is all about physicality. You have to have that running ability and hard running, and he has that. He can press the game and he can also score goals.
"Of course with Jota coming back in, he's a top, top player, but he's not quite at the physical level yet. So, it was pretty easy [to leave him out] really. You need to be physical in these games and the front three are in a good place."
