John Barnes has backed Brendan Rodgers to keep playing his way in the Champions League…
Barnes, who had a brief and unsuccessful spell managing Celtic, explained why Brendan’s tactical approach is the right one in a conversation with Lucky Block.
Celtic have got the best team in Scotland
“Celtic have got the best team in Scotland. The problem that Celtic have is that they can play like that in Scotland, play well and win. They will be dominant in 99% of their games in Scotland, so the problem is how to do Celtic adapt or how do they play in the Champions League?” Barnes said.
“Celtic have been playing this way every single week, against teams who they should beat and do beat, and then all of a sudden you come up against a new team. What is Brendan supposed to do? He can’t revert to a totally different style for Dortmund away and then change it back for the Scottish Premiership,” said Barnes.
Beat teams they should be beating
Barnes also believes that Celtic will likely finish in Champions League play-off spots if they “beat the teams they should be beating”.
“The new Champions League format, it promotes the fact that the best teams should normally always get into the knock-out stage and it’s going to be mighty difficult for Celtic to finish in that automatic eight, but ninth to twenty-fourth is certainly something that Celtic should be looking to accomplish.
Celtic’s route to the knock-out rounds
“Celtic need to beat the teams they should be beating – and there are a few of them left to play – and they should be able to do so by playing how Brendan sets his team up to play,” Barnes said.
Effectively Barnes is looking at Celtic getting wins against Club Brugge at Celtic Park (27 November), Dinamo Zagreb away on 10 December, then Young Boys at Celtic Park on 22 January 2024.
Winning those games will be easier said than done and Brendan Rodgers will be hoping to get some points from the tougher opponents starting with Atalanta this evening in Italy, RB Leipzig at home on 5 November and Aston Villa at Villa Park on 29 January.
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