Share

Rodgers hails ‘best in the world’ Suarez

That being said, I don’t see Celtic leaving with anything but a loss.

Advertisement

“I know from working with Luis he used to occupy a defence on his own so if you put Neymar and Messi into that it is a very hard task”.

Rodgers saw a number of his players put in fine performances against Rangers and that was without star striker Leigh Griffiths so he’ll be confident whoever he plays in the fixture will be up to the task.

Luis Suarez, Neymar and Leo Messi are all savers in the goalscorers market while last weekend’s hat-trick hero, Moussa Dembele, appeals for the visitors.

“He’s a very humble guy who works tirelessly at his profession”.

“I had the pleasure of working with Luis as a human being for two years and he was incredible”. He is the best in the world.

“Barca now wouldn’t be the same team without Luis in the team”.

But Barcelona go into game having had a surprising lost to La Liga newcomers Alaves, while Celtic beat arch-rivals Ranger 5-1.

“So if you add Neymar and Messi into that then of course it is a very hard task, but as a manager you have to believe you can get a positive result”.

He felt like he achieved that and for the recent fixture against Alaves he made eight changes to his starting line-up.

‘But you can give as much insight as you possibly can and then hope you get a bit of luck along the way, stay calm when you have to and really, really enjoy the occasion.

At times last season it was clear he didn’t trust his full squad, opting instead to stick with the same eleven players even when they could have needed a rest.

“The team has reacted well”.

“To stop him? It’s very, very hard”.

“We have the shortest turnaround you can have between games”.

“That’s why we play football for nights like tomorrow night”. Two sides already met in the International Champions Cup this summer when Barcelona easily dealt with their opponents winning 3-1 – still, that experience could help Celtic to get the “feel” how it is to play against Barca.

Netherlands custodian Jasper Cillessen, who faced Celtic with his former club Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League and Europa League recently, will replace him.

“Rodgers spoke about it being the aim with the players in pre-season and just to get to the group stages is a massive achievement and a game-changer in terms of the finances”.

The five-time Ballon d’Or victor returned from worldwide duty with Argentina having aggravated a groin complaint and Luis Enrique will guard against further fitness problems in Tuesday’s Champions League opener against Celtic.

“They have made good signings and have players that will cause us problems”.

“He’s a lover of good football, he plays an attractive style and I like coaches who attack”.

Advertisement

Enrique will bring back Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique tonight, while Andres Iniesta is pushing for a start after recovering from injury.

Luis Enrique takes blame for shock Barca loss