Although Celtic couldn’t find a way past Red Star Belgrade, Joe Hart had plenty of praise for one star who he believes has become “underrated” under Brendan Rodgers.
Rodgers: Belgrade draw a "good point" for Celtic
It was another frustrating night for Celtic in Europe as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Red Star Belgrade, but Rodgers chose to remain optimistic in his post-match reaction. The manager called for “realism” before claiming that the result gave his side a “good point” as they look to build on the result in the rest of their Europa League campaign.
“I think that we are where we are and I think that tonight is a good point. You’re probably not going to go win all eight games, so I think there’s a bit of realism needed to it.
“This is a good point for this squad of players and for us coming here. There’ll always be criticism, but if you come to Belgrade and you get a point of a team that’s won seven games out of seven [in the league] then we can really only focus on what we can do ourselves.” (Rodgers after Red Star Belgrade draw)
Whether those at Celtic Park agree with that verdict is another question. The Bhoys were initially on course to seal all three points when Kelechi Iheanacho found his second goal in three games for the club, only for Marko Arnautovic to level things up just 10 minutes later.
The Bhoys will now turn their attention back towards the Scottish Premiership, where they’ll be looking to take their unbeaten start to six games and potentially push away from Hearts, who have matched them for every stride so far this season.
It’s also worth noting that it wasn’t all bad for Celtic in Belgrade. Hart reserved particular praise for a player that he believes has now become “underrated” at the club.
Joe Hart praises "underrated" Scales
Taking to X whilst on commentary duty during Celtic’s draw against Belgrade, Hart heaped praise on the “underrated” Liam Scales, who started at the centre of the Bhoys’ backline for the ninth time this season.
Dubbing the defender “safe and secure”, it’s hard to argue with Hart’s verdict. Scales enjoyed yet another impressive display against Belgrade – completing 10 clearances, three recoveries and winning five of his six aerial duels. Once again, he was simply dominant.
Whilst others have come under fire at Celtic Park so far this season, Scales has quietly enjoyed a solid start to the campaign. As far as Rodgers is concerned too, long may it continue.
If the Celtic boss can get his frontline firing on all cylinders, then he should see his side get back to their very best. The defensive foundation is arguably already in place.
Scales, alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers, the experienced Kieran Tierney and exciting prospect Colby Donovan, has completed his end of the bargain on plenty of occasions so far this season.