Rodgers: Not entering the Champions League is a huge blow. We need to strengthen the front line and go further

Celtics lost to Almaty Keilat in penalty shootout, and Rodgers called the Champions League elimination a "huge blow."

Rodgers said in an interview with Amazon Prime: "It's very frustrating. We showed our ability at this level in the game, but we didn't keep showing it in both games. Very disappointed, because we performed well last season and played great football and failed to enter the Champions League this season, which was a huge blow for us. We missed a huge opportunity in both games."

Rodgers has been calling for strengthening the attack line since July, but failed to do so. Rodgers added: "Last year we showed our progress, but you have to keep moving forward. The last thing in football is to put pressure on ourselves. We can only look at the club's status quo and decide the direction of the future. Overall, I think it's a bad game. The venue conditions are very bad. Our defense is OK, but we can never make a breakthrough. We have a lot of good opportunities in the second half and in overtime, but everything is possible in the penalty shootout. We have to reflect on those opportunities that we didn't seize and have to accept the fate of the Europa League now."