Brendan Rodgers praises Celtic resolve after Champions League thriller

However, the visitors came back strongly in the second half, grabbing two goals back in quick succession before substitute Moussa Dembele headed home, with skipper Scott Brown sealing the victory late on following a tremendous save from Craig Gordon at the other end.

Griffiths has not played in the Champions League proper but knows Rodgers’ side is close to the group stage ahead of next week’s return – and was delighted to net a fabulous free-kick for the third.

“They [the fans] are desperate for the team to get into the Champions League but as players we want it just as bad”.

Griffiths grabbed his second of the game before half-time, curling home an emphatic free kick into the top corner.

“We have a tough game against St Johnstone and then go to Israel”. “But we are not getting carried away, there’s still a massive job to do out there [in the second leg]”.

Celtic switched off at three set-pieces over two legs as they lost on away goals but Griffiths insists new boss Brendan Rodgers has drilled it into his players that they can not afford to repeat those lapses.

“So the gaffer has made sure we realise how unsafe set-pieces can be”.

“We need to tighten up on individual mistakes”. Rodgers added: “It’s a new team, a new identity and what we’ve shown over this early part of the season is the ability to deal with pressure”. These were the types of players I liked as an attacker and they all did well in the Champions League. Then we had a spell where we defended poorly, conceded two poor goals and didn’t reduce the space.

“Then it goes to 3-2 quickly and then a question is asked of you”.

Celtic welcome back defender Erik Sviatchenko and Israeli midfielder Nir Bitton into the squad, while Patrick Roberts remains out injured and Dedryk Boyata, who played against Inter Milan on Saturday, reportedly will not feature. Over 800 people joined a Facebook group titled “Fly the flag for Palestine, for Celtic, for Justice”, and the group’s creators called on Celtic fans to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, saying that people should express their “democratic rights to display our opposition to Israeli apartheid, settler colonialism, and countless massacres of the Palestinian people”.