'Hot' Celtic get potential Champions League A-list rivals buzzing as superstars rate Brendan Rodgers boys
Vincent Kompany insists Celtic would be “hot” opponents for Bayern Munich - but Real Madrid ace Rodrygo says he doesn’t care if they get the Hoops or Manchester City in the Champions League.
Celtic will face the German or Spanish giants - the most successful club in the competition - in the knockout round playoff with the draw taking place on Friday. The Hoops went down a battling 4-2 defeat in Birmingham against Aston Villa in the final game in the league phase.
Kompany - who won four titles as a player for Manchester City - could face his former club in the draw, but he insisted he has not got a preference between Celtic or City. He said: "With City, everyone knows what qualities they have. But Celtic are also hot. We need to rebuild our momentum, but it was clear that big games were coming.
"City and Celtic will have a good feeling because of the way they are playing and will be confident and we have to have that feeling too. Everything is in our hands.” And Celtic were praised by Bayern's legendary German keeper and captain Manuel Neuer. The 38-year-old said: "Manchester City and Celtic are both great opponents. We know the quality of both teams."
Despite being the kings of the competition, Real Madrid failed to reach the top eight and seal automatic qualification after five wins and three defeats in their games. And Brazilian winger Rodrygo is under no illusions how tough it will be for them whether they draw Celtic or City.
He said: "Of course we talked about whether we would rather play against Manchester City or Celtic. No matter who we get, it will be difficult anyway. You can't choose your opponents. If we meet City, it will be a tough game as always. But ultimately, all opponents are tough.
"It's true that we've played City a lot in recent years, and they were always tough and competitive games. But in the end, we are Real Madrid. In this group stages, we have not done so well in some games.
"Our goal was obviously to qualify directly and we have missed out on it. That was our aim. So now we have to keep improving, which is what we are currently doing. That's what we need to do."
