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Roberts delighted to receive Guardiola praise

Cape Town - Celtic winger Patrick Roberts was delighted to have been congratulated by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola after scoring in the 1-1 Champions League draw with his parent club on Tuesday night.

The 19-year-old former Fulham player, who joined City for £12million in July 2015, netted the opening goal of their dead-rubber match at the Etihad Stadium before a quick-fire Kelechi Iheanacho response.

Prior to kick-off all four positions in Group C had been decided, with City finishing behind Barcelona in second place, thereby securing their progression to the knockout rounds, while Celtic ended bottom behind Borussia Monchengladbach.

Speaking after the match, the on-loan midfielder, who has scored four goals in 22 appearances for the Hoops this season said: "[Guardiola] came up to me afterwards and said "hello" and "well done", so that was nice of him."

While he doesn't know what his future holds, Roberts admits he is just happy to be playing regularly.

"Who knows, you don't know what's going to happen in football. You just have to enjoy the moment and finish the season strong, then see how it goes next season," he added.

"It's been great. Playing in games like these and the opportunity to play in the Champions League, it's an achievement to do that.

"When I came to Celtic, that was the main goal and to play for Celtic has been great."

Roberts also praised former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers for giving him game time, while also admitting Celtic had a tough time of advancing in the Champions League after being drawn in difficult group.

"Obviously we were in a very tough group and it was always going to be hard to get out of it," he said.

"We've shown as a team that we are capable of standing up to everybody and playing our football."

He added: "He's (Rodgers) been good. He loves young players, he talks to you every day and he just wants the best for me. I'm happy he's the manager and he's brought me on a lot since he's been here."

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