Rodgers hails his players after Celtic progress to Champions League knockout stage

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hailed his players after they made sure of their spot in the Champions League knockout phase.

A late own goal from Young Boys captain Loris Benito, courtesy of Adam Idah, earned Celtic a 1-0 victory that moved them out of reach of Manchester City at the top of the bottom eight.

The Scottish champions sit 18th in the table and victory over Aston Villa in Birmingham next week would likely seal a seeded position in the play-off round. A top-eight finish and direct entry to the last 16 remains possible.

Rodgers said: "It's a little bit of history created. We haven't been in the knockout stages for a long time. For the supporters, it's an amazing night. And obviously for the club, it's really good.

"If we look at progress, we've won three games, we've drawn three games, we've lost one. And over the course of the Champions League, it's really good consistency.

"I think we've seen where they've come from from last season. I thought we played well but didn't quite get the points.

"To now come in this season and have 12 points at this stage is absolutely fantastic from where the club has been over a number of years at this level. I think that's clear to see."

Celtic have now gone five matches unbeaten in the competition and kept their third clean sheet in their seven matches. They are now level on 12 points with a Borussia Dortmund side that put seven goals past them in Germany on match day two.

"There's been so many critics of Celtic at this level," Rodgers said. "There's no doubt it is a challenge. But the players have stepped up. They've been absolutely superb over the course of these seven games. The setback that we had in Dortmund, we learned from.

"It's a privilege to manage Celtic at this level. But I