Brendan Rodgers feels 'pride' as Celtic brace for heavyweights

Brendan Rodgers said was proud of Celtic's performance at Villa Park even though a 4-2 defeat condemned them to a play-off tie against one of the giants of European football.

Defeat hurt Brendan Rodgers' side as they will play either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the play-off round after finishing 21st in the league phase. Their opponent will be decided in Friday’s draw.

But the Hoops boss believes his team have shown enough to give either of those powerhouses a game.

"We know it’s Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the next round," he said.

"So that will be obviously a huge challenge for us, but we’re building confidence at this level and showing that we’re a team that can play and can work well and make it really, really difficult for the top teams.

"Clearly, it’s a great reward for the work the team and the club have done. Whoever we play they are clearly top-level teams."

About the defeat, Rodgers added: "The word that strikes me at the moment is pride. I think that coming to a team that, over the last couple of years has been at the highest level, in the Premier League.

"Within a few minutes they get the first goal, a quick second goal, then there’s a question asked of you as a team, your spirit, your mentality, character, everything about you at this level, but the players continued to play."

Pride was the over-riding feeling afterwards, with Aston Villa boss Unai Emery expressing his after they secured their place in the last-16.

Victory ensured Villa finished eighth in the league phase in their debut season in the competition and therefore avoided a play-off round.

They will face Atalanta, Borussia Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon or Club Brugge in the next round in March.

Emery said: "We are very proud of our work, of our way in