Brendan Rodgers shuts down Celtic first half flop talk as reporter bluntly told ‘that’s football’ in spiky response

Brendan Rodgers delivered a spiky on air response post-match as he shut down talk over Celtic's first-half display at Motherwell.

The champions headed into added-time at Fir Park with the Steelmen still locked at 1-1 and looking likely they would drop further points in the Scottish Premiership. But supersub Adam Idah added to his brilliant header early in the second half to fire a low effort beyond Liam Kelly from Alistair Johnston's cross to send the travelling support and the players wild. Luis Palma then put the icing on the cake with a second added-time strike to secure the three points with a 3-1 victory.

It's not the first time Celtic have experienced last-gasp drama at Motherwell this season with Matt O'Riley the hero previously and Rodgers couldn't hide his delight admitting he could NOT fault his players for their response. Rangers went five points clear at the summit after dumping Hearts 5-0 at Ibrox on Saturday but the Hoops responded to cut the gap back to two with 11 games to go. Both return to action midweek with every single game proving crucial in the battle for the league title.

Celtic have been written off of late with Philippe Clement and Rangers' form meaning many expect them to finish on top. Rodgers alluded to that fact in his post-match interview insisting people have already written the story on how the campaign will end - but he had a message of his own. He also refused to focus on the line of question in terms of the first half display when asked by BBC reporter Jane Lewis for more insight into what he feels was affecting his players.

Lewis asked: "The reaction was excellent in the second half. You would have wanted to see that reaction from the off though. You mention that word anxiety there