Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has acknowledged that his team made a number of mistakes which contributed to the 2-0 defeat against Valencia on Thursday night. The Hoops had the opportunity to make the most of the home leg of the Europa League round of 32 but that did not happen with Los Che running out comfortable victors despite being dominated in the possession statistic.

Speaking after the game, Rodgers admitted that his side have plenty to learn from the Spanish giants, who managed to keep patience and pounce on the mistakes made by the Hoops. He added that concentration remains key for such encounters and they made things difficult for them in a disappointing night at Parkhead.

He said: ““The lessons are you need to really concentrate, there wasn't a lot in the game“. If you take away the two mistakes there wasn't a lot of chances for either side. We have to learn from it, we have a lot of young players, and next week if we can get the first goal it can bring a different possibility for us. Concentration is so important, you can get away with it domestically at times, but at this level, against good players, you don't concentrate and you bring pressure onto yourself. It ended up being a “disappointing night for us“.”

Celtic have to overturn a 2-0 deficit when they make the trip to Valencia and their chances appear slim based on the recent European woes on the road. As such, it will be interesting to see the approach from the team, although Rodgers would not want the players to give up without having a real go at the Mestalla next week.
Prior to that, however, Celtic can go eight points ahead of Rangers at the top of the league standings, should they beat Kilmarnock on the road on Sunday. Rodgers’ team have been afforded the chance to extend the advantage over the Gers after they managed only a scoreless draw against St Johnstone over the weekend.