Red star 1-1 Celtic Result

BRENDAN RODGERS ON TNT SPORTS

On the draw: “You come here to a team that has won all of its domestic games, seven out of seven. I think coming to Belgrade is always a tough game.

Listen, we had opportunities, in the second half in particular, but we showed great resilience tonight. We showed moments of quality. Kelechi’s goal was absolutely outstanding. I still want us to be a little more proactive in the game. Overall it was a nice first step for us in the competition.

On Maeda substitution at half-time: We needed someone to hold the ball up centrally. I felt we arrived into the final third in the first half, and we were either loose with the ball or didn’t hold the ball up. It’s one of Kelechi’s great strengths. He gave us a much better platform in the second half.

He Colby Donovan: “I thought he was absolutely outstanding,”

“I said to the players after, I thought he was incredible for a young player making his fourth or fifth start for us. To play to that level in such a tough stadium to come in. Just turned 19, he’s got personality.

“He’s not frightened of anything. He comes into the game, he takes the ball. He passes the ball forward. He runs forward. He’s aggressive. He stops, crosses, and that’s how he trains. He trains to that level everyday.

“I’m so happy for him. He stepped in and he’s obviously been playing consistently. To come here and play like that was absolutely outstanding.”

What needs to improve? I think there needs to be better realism. We are where we are. Tonight is a good point. You’re not going to win all eight games, so a bit of realism. This is a good point for this squad coming here. We’ve now got two really (important) home games to push forward. We can really only focus on ourselves.