Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers explains his reason why he left Paulo Bernardo on the bench during the Celtic F.C. win vs. Hearts (2-0)

Some people were shocked that Celtic didn’t start midfielder Paulo Bernardo against Hearts on Saturday because he was one of the best players on the team in their recent derby win.

The leader of Portugal U21 was put on the bench, and new player Arne Engels filled his spot in the team very well.

After Engels played so well that he was named man of the match and scored his first goal after bravely stepping up to take a penalty, Brendan Rodgers’ choice was completely fair.

Bernardo did play. He took over for Reo Hatate after 66 minutes and helped the Boyz get closer to a 2-0 win.

Brendan Rodgers talks about the Celtic team he chose to play Hearts.

After the game, Rodgers was asked if it was hard to leave the Portuguese out after how he played against Rangers. He said [Celtic Way]: “I have to get the team ready for the season.” After building a strong team, it doesn’t help to not use those stars. Even though I like to make small changes, I will still do them.

“I thought it was important for Engels to join the team and get used to playing with them while trying to figure out some of the patterns. That way, we can look at the game with him and figure out what he needs to work on.”

“I want to make this team strong, fast, and hard to expect.” On a European level, he gives us that for sure.

“He came in and played very well in the top five leagues in Europe.” We need that player, and we’re glad he decided to come here.

“I wanted to bring him in because Paulo has been great, so I’m glad he is here.” There are more people waiting in line to play as well. They’ll get that because the season is so long.

Paulo Bernardo will be very important for Celtic.
Even though Bernardo got back from international service later in the week than Engels, it made sense to give him the nod.

Rodgers was completely right when he said this, and hopefully as the season goes on, more people will realize that this isn’t really a problem that needs to be explained by the manager.

Bernardo will play a lot for Celtic, and it’s likely that he will start on Wednesday against Slovan Bratislava. That is not at all a surprise.

It’s good that two young talented people are competing for one spot on the team, and sometimes one of them might even be picked over Reo Hatate. This term, Bernardo won’t need to worry because he’ll be an important part of the process.

It’s normal and necessary to rotate. As long as it helps the team and the general performance, there’s no matter what.