“That was the whole idea of coming out,” Brendan Rodgers on Celtic at Como Cup | OneFootball

Brendan Rodgers insists for large spells of the game Celtic were ‘very good’ despite their 5-1 defeat to Ajax last night…

Celtic applaud the travelling fans Ajax v Celtic, Como Cup Pre Season Football, Football, Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como, Italy – 24 Jul 2025Como Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia Italy. Photo Shutterstock IMAGO

At Como’s Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, the Hoops were resoundingly beaten in their penultimate pre-season encounter as the Dutch outfit sealed an emphatic victory with a series of spectacular goals.

For large spells of the first half, Celtic looked the better team, with Yang’s strike on 20 minutes coming after a brilliant Kieran Tierney pass that sliced through the Ajax back line. However, three goals in a 30-minute period in the second half meant last season’s Eredivisie runners-up booked their place in Sunday’s final against Como.

COMO , 24-07-2025 , Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia , season 2025 / 2026 , Como Cup football , match between Ajax and Celtic , Brendan Rodgers Head coach of Celtic and John Heitinga Head Coach of Ajax. Ajax v Celtic friendly. Photo IMAGO

Speaking to Celtic TV post-match Rodgers said: “For the first 60 minutes of the game we were very good, and the third goal we gave away. We had lots of really good moments. Scored one and should have had more. The goal we scored was very good.”

“You can see that the players are working very hard and we’re pushing them in training,” he said.

“I just felt that in the last 30 minutes of the game, we gave the ball away too easily and we lost out on too many duels. Overall, there are lots of positives for us but also a reminder of the work we have to do.”

Como, Italy, 24th July 2025. A piper performs in the stands prior to kick off in the Ajax vs Celtic Pre Season Friendly match at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como. Photo: Jonathan Moscrop / Sportimage

Celtic will now face Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli in Saturday evening’s 3rd/4th playoff match which will be the Scottish champions’ final game before they kickstart their league campaign a week on Sunday.

Rodgers added: “Al-Ahli have quality players. Players that are individually very good. As we know, they’ve spent a lot of money on top players. So it’s a really good game, and that was the whole idea of coming out.”

“We were going to get two really good games to finish pre-season. We seen that tonight, they tested us physically, technically and tactically and we’ll take a lot away from the game.”

Conor Spence

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Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, out 5 September 2025. Available to pre-order now.

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