Brendan Rodgers relishing Celtic Champions League challenge as he gives Real Madrid or Bayern Munich draw reaction

Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic are ready for the challenge of taking on the mighty Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout phase playoff.

The Hoops will face one of the European heavyweights in Friday’s draw after going down 4-2 to Aston Villa in an epic final league phase clash. Adam Idah netted a double after the Premiership champions conceded two quickfire goals to Morgan Rogers, who went on to complete a hat-trick, with Ollie Watkins also on target for Unai Emery’s side.

Celtic finished 21st in the 32-team table and will now be paired with 15-time champions Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. Rodgers is ready for that daunting challenge in Friday’s draw and said: “It’s a great reward for the team and the club and the work they’ve done but whoever we play they’re clearly top level teams.

We went to Atalanta and kept a clean sheet and come here tonight and were in the game and we know it’s Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the next round which will be a huge challenge but we’re building confidence at this level and showing we’re a team who can work well and make it difficult for the top teams.

“I’ve enjoyed the different levels but every game at this level is really tough and I’m just proud of how we’ve performed because Scotland gets a wee bit of stick in its football.

"But you can clearly see we have teams who have the courage to play despite being nowhere near the resource level of teams in the Premier League but we can be competitive and that’s what you want to be.

“I’ve really enjoyed it, playing different teams and going to different cities. It’s been really good and there would have been a level of excitement with people watching their screens and seeing who they might get.

“The format has been