Brendan Rodgers: Celtic have waited years for 'so good' RB Leipzig performance

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers felt their victory over RB Leipzig was the type of performance fans have waited years for and one he aspired to when he considered returning to Glasgow.

Rodgers' side delivered an emphatic 3-1 win over a team sitting second in the Bundesliga to move on to seven points from four Champions League games.

After achieving domestic domination in his first spell as Celtic manager, the 51-year-old targeted progress in Europe when he met Hoops captain Callum McGregor on holiday in the summer of 2023 to discuss a potential comeback following the departure of Ange Postecoglou.

The vision was realised at a vibrant Celtic Park in midweek and Rodgers will set about striving to maintain the momentum.

"I've heard it talked about as a generational game, which I can't argue with," he said. "It's something that we've been working towards for the last 12 to 16 months.

"It made me so proud just watching the team and the level of the team and how aggressive we were with and without the ball against a genuine top side.

"You can't underestimate the confidence that a win like that and the performance in Atalanta in a different way, what that brings to you. The level was so high with and without the ball. And that gives us great confidence going forward.

"But there's still lots of improvements that the team can make and the individuals can make, and we'll make over the coming months. We study the game and we reinforce with the players the process that we are in and how we're looking to improve.

"We've been waiting probably as a club and a support base for a performance like that for a while.

"It's not just to perform, but to win and perform to that level. And we want to sustain that. And I think we've shown in three of the four games in the Champions League that we're actually a good side.

"The process is all about looking to sustain it at that level. And you look to try and do that over numbers of years, not just a couple of games. But it was a big step I felt we made in the last few games and in particular the one at home.

"Watching it back and seeing the tactical discipline in the team and the work-rate of the team and the ambition in the team, but then the absolute quality of the players, the technical level that they played and the speed and the pace in the game and how creative we were, it was so, so good.

"Once you do that on the field, Celtic Park was built for performances and nights like that. And you sensed and felt what the crowd thought of it and that gave a big, big energy to the team."

Celtic have now won three consecutive home games in the Champions League proper for the first time since 2007, having waited 10 years for a victory at Celtic Park before last season's win against Feyenoord.

Rodgers said: "When I sat with Callum in Majorca and we were talking about the team and where we could take it and where we want to get to, that was my vision and a big part of coming back, to bring a team into Europe that the supporters were craving for. Not just to participate, but to compete.

"But I always knew it was going to be a process of the players gaining confidence in me and me observing them.

"And of course, when it was a challenge in the first period of last season, then of course it can seem quite distant in terms of what we produced on Tuesday. But that's the game.

"What we never lost was our focus on our work, our poise, our confidence in what we were doing. And then eventually things start to move in the direction that you want. And then you start to produce better performances and more consistent performances."

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