“Kelechi’s a brilliant goalscorer” – Rogders praises Iheanacho after Celtic draw

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has once again come out to explain why he went for the services of Nigeria forward Kelechi Iheanacho, whose goal enabled the Scottish giants secure a 1-1 Europa League draw against Crvena Zvezda at Rajko Mitic Stadium on Wednesday.

With the opening fixture balanced at 0-0 during the half-time, Rodgers looked to his bench and summoned the Nigerian star. He came into the game at the start of the second half after replacing Daizen Maeda, and took him nine minutes to score the opener for the Hoops.

After being denied from close-range by a brave piece of goalkeeping, Crvena Zvezda goalkeeper, the Super Eagle never gave up. Nygren produced an inspired piece of play in the build-up, before threading the ball through to Iheanacho, whose superb touch and finish sparked wild celebrations amongst the Celtic support.

Iheanacho produced a superb touch and finish

“I put Kelechi into the game because he’s a good reference for the team. I know he can hold the ball and his touch, and that allowed us to come into the game and I felt we were much better in the second-half and looked like we could go on and win the game,” Rodgers told Celtic TV as quoted by the club’s official website.

“Kelechi’s a brilliant goalscorer,” the manager added. “I knew that bringing him in, and I knew that how he looks after himself is really good. So it’s just about getting him up to speed, and when he can do that, he can score goals, there’s absolutely no doubt.”

⚽ Follow Pan-Africa Football across platforms for real-time news and stories.