That’s all for tonight. Thanks as always for your company and emails – goodnight.
Updated
Brendan Rodgers' verdict
It’s not what the players deserved, especially right at the very end. They gave so much to the game; they played with confidence. We knew we’d have to defend b ut we didn’t give away too much – our concentration was good and we denied them space. But then we had quality on the ball and actually had the best chances. It was a really heroic performance and such a cruel way to go out of the competition.
We wanted to make a fast start to the game. It was important we didn’t give away much. We had to have aggression and control without the ball. And then just take the ball, try and build and get through the pitch. We got into some great positions and had two big chances.
In the last 30 minutes at Celtic Park, I felt Maeda’s speed on the press unnerved them. Then when he goes it allows everyone else to be there together. There were other moments where we couldn’t press and we had to be compact and tight.
I think our European credibility has been restored. That’s my takeaway from this season. You think of the last time we were in Germany [when they lost 7-1 to Dortmund] and the improvements we’ve made since then.
I think we’ve found a nice template without the ball. Hopefully next season we can improve the squad again, to be able to bring quality of the bench and have that freshness. But this season has been so good – we’ve played some amazing football, we’ve had adverse moments but recovered. My objective is to make us a seasoned team at this level.
[What did you say to the players?] I said to them that I came back to this club to make progress in Europe. And if I judge that on tonight, they’ve given me everything. Now our job is to learn from the experiences we’ve had, finish our season really well and get back in the Champions League next season.
