Brendan Rodgers: Performance against Astana was our best yet
The Celtic boss says their 5-0 thrashing in the first-leg of the Champions League qualifier was the most complete display of his tenure at the club.
Rodgers was waxing lyrical about Celtic's performance in last night's Champions League qualifier. Goals from Tom Rogic, James Forrest, Leigh Griffiths and a brace from Scott Sinclair put the Scottish champions a hair's width away from reaching the Champions League group stage for a second successive year.
The Celtic boss also expects another boost in the next 48 hours as he expects midfielder Stuart Armstrong to sign a new deal with the club.
The Northern Irishman refused to admit his side have secured a place in the draw, arguing that they still need to finish the job in the away leg in Kazakhstan, but he did say: "Some of our play was outstanding. It was a brilliant performance. Very complete in the aspects of the way we work.
"Now we go to get the job done over there in the second game.
"It was an outstanding team performance with creativity and real structure and organisation.
"We scored five goals and missed one or two chances with that.
"To do that at this level of competition, with all due respect for a Scottish team against a side who have had draws two seasons ago with Atletico Madrid and Benfica, and show that level of composure. I was really proud of the team.
"Every game in this qualification is a pressure-game, but the pleasing aspect with how the players coped with that.
"It had everything in it. We were a little bit surprised as they normally don’t press, but they did at the start of the game pressing high up the pitch.
"The first goal was really important and then we really settled after that."
Folowing the loss of defenders Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko to injury, Rodgers' decision to play midfielder Nir Bitton at centre-back was justified and he singled the Israeli out for praise saying: "There was loads of speculation about Nir. There is no one who knows better than me whether he is good or not.
"He makes less mistakes than many centre-halves I see and I thought he was outstanding in his game.
"He gives us composure on the ball to build. When he’s pressed, he has the ability to find a midfield player.
"In this model and how we work, he is absolutely perfect for what’s needed to play in that position."
Rodgers went on to praise the rest of Nir's team-mates and urged them to finish the job in Astana next Tuesday night. "The players deserve a huge amount of credit. They managed the game very well and have shown the development of playing these high-pressure games all year.
"We want to go there and win the game. We don’t have to, but we want to go there and perform well.
"Last time we were there, we got a good result (1-1).
"As you saw, we’re in a better place. We understand we have to complete the second leg and finish the job off, but it’s about reflection on this performance.
"We’ll look at it and prepare well."
When asked about the status of midfielder Stuart Armstrong's new deal, the Celtic boss confirmed: "Hopefully imminently in the next 24-48 hours which will be absolutely brilliant for us because he is a vital member of the squad."