Liverpool tensions add to Celtic’s Dortmund challenge in Champions League

It’s Dortmund v Celtic tonight at the Westfalenstadion in the Champions League and there’s an added rather fascinating Liverpool sideshow worth keeping an eye on.

Last season’s beaten Champions League Finalists are now managed by Nuri Sahin, who as a young player at Liverpool was managed by the current Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers.

Both spoke positively enough about each other in their pre-match media conferences, with Rodgers explaining why Sahin was often played out of position while Rodgers was picking the team at Liverpool.

Brendan Rodgers was asked about knowing Nuri from his spell at Liverpool and how he reflects on that, plus how have you assessed his career since their time together at Anfield.

“Yeah, he was a good guy, Nuri. He probably didn’t play for me as much as he would have liked,” Rodgers admitted.

“I think when he came in he was a young player, coming in on loan from Real Madrid. Unfortunately at that time, I’d moved Steven Gerrard from a number 10 position into a deeper role. I’d also had Jordan Henderson who became, those two guys, some of the greatest captains in the history of Liverpool and that’s who he was competing against.

“I tried to put him into the team and play in some positions that probably didn’t quite suit him. I might play as number 10 when he was a deeper player but I had other players in those positions that were doing really well for me.

“But across his time, he was a good guy. He loved his football, trained very well, and was super professional and of course, he left Liverpool and went back to Dortmund and followed his career from there. So it’s great to see him. It’ll be really good to see him tomorrow evening when he’s making his first steps as a manager.

“He’ll now know the challenges of when you do manage and all the…