Celtic should be confident of away win, says Brendan Rodgers
Brendan Rodgers believes his in-form Celtic side are primed to pull off their first away win in the Champions League for more than seven years when they face Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian capital on Tuesday.
The Hoops have not savoured victory on the road in the group stage of Europe's elite competition since a 3-0 triumph over Anderlecht in Brussels in September 2017. That was in the second season of Rodgers' first spell in charge.
After taking eight points from the first five matches of this season's competition, including a 0-0 draw against Atalanta in their last away match, the manager is determined to see the Scottish champions take the "next step" in their progression by conjuring a statement victory overseas.
"To win away from home, because you know what it means to supporters as well as the points and you know that an away win at any level, but in particular in the Champions League, is a difficult challenge, it's one that gives a real good feeling," Rodgers said at his pre-match media briefing in the Maksimir Stadium on Monday night. "So, for us, it's the next step.
"You go to Atalanta and you defend how we did there, that gives you a bit of confidence to know that you can go into any stadium and defend well. And we hope that we can then bring our attacking game alongside that. We know that when we do that, it gives us an opportunity to get that win."
Asked if he felt his team were now operating at a level where they should be confident about winning away in the Champions League, Rodgers said: "I don't think there's any doubt. I think working with this group now over the last 15, 16 months, whatever it is, I feel we're in a really, really good place.
"And I know we can arrive into these games now having made some big performances that we feel can get us big results at the level."
Dinamo Zagreb go into the match on the back of a five-game run without a victory in all competitions and are third in the Croatian top flight, six points adrift of leaders Rijeka. Pointing to the fact they have seven points in the Champions League - just one less than Celtic - Rodgers dismissed any notion that they are a team in turmoil.
"I just don't believe it, that's the reality," he said when asked how he deals with the negative perception around Celtic's opponents. "When a team's in crisis mode, that's always dangerous for me. And that's why I never think about it and look at it.
"Whether it's players that are missing or whether the form's not quite been good, what you know is, in the Champions League, once the music comes, every team is motivated to win. I just know that this will be a tough game for us. But we're ready for it and we're excited about it."
Celtic are currently 20th in the 36-team Champions League and a victory would go a long way to securing a place in the top 24 and taking them through to the play-off round.
Asked how he views the importance of Tuesday's match in comparison to Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final against Rangers, Rodgers said: "Every single game is so important as a Celtic player and manager. We haven't even thought about the Rangers game yet.
"For me, it's really about focusing intensely on this game. The minute it finishes, we can then get ready. We've got enough time to prepare and be ready for Sunday. That is clearly a massive game for us. Tomorrow night is huge also."
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