Brendan Rodgers on ten-man Celtic's 6-0 drubbing at Atletico Madrid
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00:00 Hi, good evening. We'll just begin straight with questions if we can. BBC.
00:07 Brendan, can I ask your thoughts on how and why that spiralled out the way it did and the impact the red card had on your team tonight?
00:26 I think the red card was a big turning point in the game. I think we started well, we started with confidence, got into some really good areas.
00:39 Of course, we then get the man sent off very early, which was a huge disappointment because I didn't feel it was a red card.
00:50 I think when you watch the images back and you watch the rerun of the action, both players kick each other's feet.
01:00 I think the referee's seen that in game time, but then he's asked to go and have a look at it.
01:04 I think the first image he sees is not representative of the actual challenge in the game.
01:11 I think you plant the seed whenever he sees it. His first image that he sees is with Dejah Mejia's foot up.
01:18 But that wasn't the challenge. When you watch it, it's a really, really soft red card.
01:25 For a team like ourselves, coming to here, 11 v 11, we would have to be at our real max to be looking to get something out of the game.
01:33 Once it goes so early to 10 v 11, it becomes a real challenge for us.
01:39 As the game goes on, we tire. And of course, they were scoring from all angles and scored some fantastic goals.
01:48 But I think the red card makes it really, really difficult for us.
01:54 Just on that, are you saying it was a still image that the referee was presented with?
02:00 I saw you at the time. I think you seemed to suggest that the bench of Atletico may have overreacted slightly.
02:08 No, listen, they will play the game. They obviously will try and get our players sent off.
02:16 That's what you see. But I think in isolation, when you look at the image,
02:22 as I said, the referee runs over. His first image that he sees is with Dejan's foot up.
02:28 But when you actually rerun the incident, again, as I said, it's not representative of the actual challenge.
02:37 He's stretching a little bit, but both players catch each other's feet.
02:41 It would have been easy for Dijon to have gone down and rolled about.
02:46 So, as the referee then changes his mind and sends our player off, which, like I said, is a big challenge for us in the game.
02:53 Clearly, that had a big impact. Could your team maybe have done slightly better at certain moments?
02:59 For example, the first goal, maybe not clearing your lines as you could?
03:03 Yes, there's no doubt. We have to look at ourselves also. I think, in particular, the first two goals are avoidable.
03:10 For a second-phase corner, I think one of them, we shouldn't give away the corner.
03:16 But in particular, those first two and especially the timing of the second one, it was poor from our perspective.
03:22 So, we will analyse that and see where we can be better.
03:28 Brendan, after four games, you've just got one point. How do you view the group now?
03:33 Clearly, it's a challenge with Feyenoord. We knew we had to take something from the game this evening, but we let Seo [Sinister] win as well.
03:42 I think our objective is, again, with two games to go, it's about collating points and see can we improve on last year's points total.
03:54 I think that has to be the aim now, going forward.
03:57 Many teams will come here against a European giant and suffer and lose by a big margin.
04:04 How do you make sure that this doesn't affect your players going forward, doesn't scar them?
04:08 Because, in the end, it was a tough night out there for them.
04:11 Yes, it won't do. You have to take a game like this here in isolation.
04:16 We, with the greatest respect, get players on different levels to ours.
04:22 Our guys, with 11, need to be at their max, like we've seen last week in the 2-2 game.
04:27 But, like I say, you come away and you go to 10 men. It's a real challenge.
04:32 There are still areas I think we can be better in, in that moment, but I'm not going to be too critical of the players playing against that level and that quality.
04:43 This is a level where the front players in lots of these teams are at a really, really high level.
04:50 I think you've seen that.
04:52 Brendan, I know you used the phrase 'they won't play the game' as such at the red card,
04:58 but were you slightly disappointed at the reaction of the bench and the players?
05:01 Because the referee seemed fine with it until that happened.
05:04 You looked incensed anyway when you went across your technical area.
05:07 Yes, listen, it's still up to the ref.
05:11 Craig, I think as you come away into Europe and a place like this here, where it's an emotional stadium and everyone will add pressure.
05:21 Like I say, the referee, I think, seen it in game time and didn't deem it worthy of anything so serious.
05:30 But, yes, it just feels like a computer game now, football.
05:36 So many visits to the screen, so many influences in the game.
05:41 And, of course, for a team like ourselves that is really at the fingertips at this level, for us to lose the player in such a manner when it wasn't, then I'm disappointed with that.
05:56 Brendan, a lot of play teams would have gone ultra defensive or tried to go ultra defensive when they lose a man so early.
06:04 You didn't seem to want to do that and you still had a commitment to two men up front.
06:09 Was that just the way you would always approach a game?
06:11 Yes, yes, listen, you've seen my teams enough back home or in any other times.
06:17 Whenever you lose a man, it's having that structure.
06:22 But, listen, you can have whatever structure you want.
06:25 It can become really, really difficult against that level of opponent.
06:28 And that just didn't work for us this evening.
06:34 So, yes, we just have to take our medicine.
06:38 OK. Last one, please. Thank you.
06:42 (Spanish)
07:05 Yes, it was probably, I think, the red card for Atletico Madrid in the first game was a lot later than what ours was.
07:18 That's for sure.
07:19 So, yes, two different circumstances.
07:22 I think Atletico Madrid are seeing out the game right at the very end.
07:26 We've lost a player at the very beginning of the game.
07:29 So, it's two totally different scenarios.
07:33 OK, we'll take one more. Thank you.
07:36 (Spanish)
07:57 Yes.
08:03 Yes, it's a very difficult one at the moment.
08:06 I've always won.
08:07 I've always been supportive of officials and understanding that they will make mistakes.
08:16 But I think as time has gone on, I think you see clearly now the influence of VAR
08:22 and the difficulties that officials have, referees on the field.
08:27 And that's why I'm saying it feels more like a computer game now,
08:31 where there's a lot of judgments and decisions going on away from the field.
08:38 It's in a room somewhere.
08:40 And like you say, I think the referee was correct in his decision on the field, but he gets influenced.
08:47 And then, of course, he then changes his mind.
08:49 So, it's definitely a talking point.
08:53 And again, it's not so much VAR because the technology is there,
08:58 but how it's implemented and how it's understood and the decisions,
09:03 with so many, probably more decisions now being in place,
09:10 definitely the referees can be swayed.
09:14 So, it's not something that I'm enjoying.
09:18 I think when it first came out, I was very much wanting to support it
09:24 and hopefully it could improve our game.
09:27 Because I think everyone thought the utopia of having this VAR would mean
09:33 that we would lose all these bad decisions that were in the game.
09:36 But you could argue there's even more now.
09:42 So, yes, it's something that I think there's a high percentage of it that can work well.
09:50 But there's also a good percentage where it just doesn't feel right in the game.
09:58 Okay, thank you very much.
10:00 Thank you.
10:01 Cheers, guys.
10:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]