Brendan Rodgers salutes courageous Celtic and insists Champions League credibility has been restored

Brendan Rodgers insists brave Celtic’s credibility has been restored at elite European level after last-gasp Champions League heartache against Bayern Munich.

The Hoops boss watched his side denied an historic first ever victory on German soil in the final minute of injury time as Alphonso Davies struck a late sickener to cancel out Nicolas Kuhn’s opener which was set to send the game into extra time. But it was Vincent Kompany’s side who snaked into Friday’s last 16 draw yet Rodgers was beaming with pride in Bavaria at the courage of his side following their 2-1 first leg defeat in Glasgow - and said his objective on returning to Parkhead had been achieved despite being eliminated.

He said: “Our European credibility has been restored this season, built up from last year. That’s my takeaway from this season. We’ve shown real quality at times. You think of the last time we were in Germany and the improvements we’ve made.

“It wasn’t what the players deserved, especially right at the very end. They gave so much to the game, played with confidence with the ball. We knew we would have to defend but we didn’t give away too much in the game.

“We’ve found a nice template when we don’t have the ball to have that security. Hopefully come next season we can improve the squad even more. At this level to be able to bring quality off the bench and have that freshness is the next step.

“This season has been so good, we’ve played some amazing football and my objective is to make us a seasoned team at this level. I said to the players in the dressing room that I came back to make progress in Europe and if I judge that myself tonight they have given me everything and we have to learn from that and get back in next season.

“Our