Bayern Munich superstar Arjen Robben may only have worked with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers fleetingly while at Chelsea, and from a distance at that, but he says he can see his handiwork all the way through the Celtic side.

Netherlands legend Robben was impressed by the way that Celtic built the game from the back as they went down narrowly to his side on Tuesday night, and he was effusive in his praise of what Rodgers has managed to do achieve with this group of Celtic players.

“It’s a big compliment to Brendan in the way Celtic play,” said Robben. “I saw it on Tuesday night, you can see his handwriting, the way they want to play football.

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“They build it from behind and I thought Celtic did very well. They did a lot better than they did in Munich. In Munich also, we played a little bit better.

“We didn’t play our best game at Celtic Park, we had a little difficulty. But you also must remember it was our third game in six days. It wasn’t the best game from us, but we’re happy to win.

“To say I worked with Brendan is a big a word. He worked with the academy and the second team. I only trained a few times with him, played one or two friendly matches for him when I was injured.

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“But I really liked his way, his philosophy, the way he thinks about football, trying to play attacking football. He’s also a very good man.

“You could see that he would go on to be a first team manager. He’s already done well in his career and to be here it’s great. It was good to meet him again.”

Robben backed up Celtic defender Mikael Lustig’s optimistic assessment of their chances in the Europa League, and he thinks that no team will relish entering the red-hot atmosphere of Celtic Park, even if he was pleasantly surprised by his own ovation as he was substituted near the end.

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“I think Celtic have a good chance in the Europa League, if they make it,” he said. “Especially at their stadium with their fans. I really enjoyed it, the fans are something special. It’s something that can be very helpful to them.

“The atmosphere here is one of the best I’ve seen in Europe. I wish Celtic all the best and hopefully they can be successful.

“The reception the Celtic fans gave me when I came off was very nice, very respectful. I’m very thankful about that, it’s not something usual. I thank them for that.”