Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has once again insisted there is no embarrassment in a Champions League defeat, this time a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Catalan giants, Barcelona.
Earlier this summer, the Antrim native was forced to issue a similar statement after a 1-0 defeat to part-timers Lincoln Red Imps in the Champions League qualifiers.
"Professionally it is never nice when that happens," Rodgers said after the game, "these are top class players and they have done that to much better teams than us."
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick, while Luis Suarez - who Rodgers will be very familiar with from his time with Liverpool - scored a brace.
The scoring was rounded off by Andres Iniesta and Neymar, to make it Celtic's heaviest ever defeat in Europe, beating the 6-1 loss the side suffered against Barcelona in December 2013.
"The speed of the pitch is fantastic, the ball moves like it is on an ice-rink, it goes so fast – and they go as fast as that," he said.
"Tonight was hard, but there can be no embarrassment. Whenever you lose as a professional it is tough to take but [my] players have been brilliant.
Kolo Toure is dejected after the final whistle. Image: Manu Fernandez / AP/Press Association Images
"They couldn’t have come to a more difficult place in world football after the highly intense game [Rangers in the Old Firm] at the weekend and to have hardly any preparation time against the world’s best at keeping the ball; they beat you up with the football at times.
"They are very special players. You can put as many players as you want there – we had a line of five – but the movement, the speed and the touch can still make it very difficult for you. They have shown great quality this evening.
"When you’re on the other end, it is not so nice, but we can’t be too downheartened. It doesn’t matter if we’re playing Barcelona or Berwick Rangers, there’s still professional pride. But they are a team of top world-class players and this will not hamper us in any way. We have a lot of learning to do, we will recover, and the experience will be good for us."
He highlighted the importance that the home crowd plays during European nights in Glasgow.
"Away from home Celtic find it very difficult over many, many years. Our home games will be very important, where our supporters genuinely create an extra man for us."
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