Moussa Dembele saved Celtic again on Tuesday night with a penalty.
Speaking to The Record, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has paid tribute to the “immense” Moussa Dembele following Tuesday’s 1-1 draw away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League.
The 20-year-old came to the rescue for Celtic yet again last night by scoring a 76th-minute penalty to cancel out Lars Stindl’s first-half opener in Germany.
Julian Korb was sent off for the hosts moments before Dembele – who now has 16 goals for the Hoops this season – dispatched the spot kick, but Rodgers’s side could not make the most of their numerical advantage as the Germans hung on.
The former Fulham starlet has already missed a penalty in the Champions League this season after fluffing his lines in the 7-0 demolition by Barcelona at Camp Nou on matchday one.
Consequently, the French hitman showed quite a bit of bottle to try and atone for that miss, and the Northern Irish manager was delighted with how his marksman tucked it away.
“He showed great composure and we spoke to him in terms of him having the confidence to take them because he’s a very good taker,” he told The Daily Record.
“We have a number of them, but he showed great composure against a top-class keeper to tuck it away. I thought he was immense. For a 20-year-old young man to perform like that.
“He started a bit loose with his touch, but, overall, his pace and touch and strength disturbed their back four.”
Celtic remain bottom of Group C, two points behind the Bundesliga outfit in what is probably a battle for a Europa League spot at this stage.
Monchengladbach, three points behind second-placed Manchester City, won’t give up on their last-16 hopes just yet, but realistically it will be the Premier League side and Barcelona to advance into the latter stages.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
