'It feels like a defeat' - Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers blames lack of creativity in 1-1 Motherwell draw

The Hoops boss cut a dejected figure at full-time after his side dropped two points at home to the Steelmen.
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Brendan Rodgers felt his side lacked a clinical edge in a "game they were expected to win" after Celtic were held to a 1-1 draw against Motherwell at Parkhead.

Jonathan Obika's dramatic late equaliser from a corner salvaged an unlikely point for the Steelmen as they halted their nine-match winless run against the out-of-sorts champions, who had gone ahead through David Turnbull's 86th minute penalty.

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Hoops winger Luis Palma missed from the spot on a frustrating afternoon for the hosts to ensure their lead at the top of the extend moves to nine points, but second-placed Rangers now have two games in hand.

Celtic's Greg Taylor, Matt O'Riley and Anthony Ralston look dejected at full-time Celtic's Greg Taylor, Matt O'Riley and Anthony Ralston look dejected at full-time
Celtic's Greg Taylor, Matt O'Riley and Anthony Ralston look dejected at full-time

Rodgers bemoaned the missed opportunity to stretch further clear, with the Gers not in action until Sunday against Aberdeen at Pittodrie. The Northern Irishman felt a lack of creativity was evident in his team's display.

He told BBC Sportsound: "We are disappointed because we had enough opportunities to win the game. We had over 80 per cent of the possession so we had enough of the ball but did not create as much as we would have liked but still the opportunities we had were good ones.

"We need to see big moments through. They (penalties) are decisive moments in the game and are something we have worked on so we need to start bringing that into matches. They are pressure moments. We are disappointed to miss the first one but David scores the second one well and we were on top after that and controlled the rhythm of the game in their half.

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"However, we gave away the corner and sadly we could not defend it. When the ball drops in the six-yard box we have to deal with it better. These are games we should win, that we are expected to win but we have to earn that through quality and that little extra bit of finesse in the final third of the pitch and we didn't quite have that today.

"We circulated the ball well, got into some good areas but lacked that final touch or pass to help us score. That little bit of freshness was maybe not there after the international break but that's no excuse. We have to show more than what we did."

Celtic now shift their focus to a must-win Champions League group stage clash against Lazio in Rome next week, with their European fate on the line.

Asked how he will attempt to bridge that gap in quality, Rodgers replied: "We've competed very, very well in the Champions League this season. Second half against Atletico was the only disappointment really. We're down to ten men against a top quality side and sadly we lost heavily there.

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"We have to recover. Today was obviously disappointing to drop two points. It feels like a defeat, especially when you're at home. We have to use that as motivation and take it into our next game. It's very clear that for us to have the opportunity to progress then it's a game we need to win. It's a different level, but there will be more space for us to play in than there was today and we have enough players who can exploit that."

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