Brendan Rodgers' comment about Falkirk has Celtic fans convinced he's winding Rangers up

Rodgers labelled Falkirk the best team Celtic have come up against this season - and fans think it was a dig at Rangers

Brendan Rodgers said Falkirk are the best team Celtic have played this season - and fans are convinced he meant it with a wink at Rangers.

The Premiership champions won 5-2 in the end against the Championship title-chasers but the three-goal win wasn't a fair reflection of a game that had the Hoops well and truly on the ropes in the first half. Rodgers' flawless team hadn't even been behind in a game yet this season, but twice they went a goal down to John McGlynn's Bairns who seemed to have all the answers in the first 45.

Rodgers had to go to his bench to rescue it and Nicolas Kuhn's introduction was the catalyst for a comeback, he and Adam Idah scoring braces to see Celtic safely through. But the Irishman was full of praise for McGlynn's team after the game, even entering the Falkirk dressing room to praise their players.

Speaking to Premier Sports, he said Falkirk were the 'best' team they'd come up against so far this term - high praise considering they've already played in the Champions League, and beaten Rangers at Parkhead. And it's the latter factor that caught the eye of fans.

Sharing a clip of Rodgers' comment, one fan captioned it with fishing emojis, suggesting it was a cheeky windup aimed at their rivals across the city by suggesting they were inferior to the Championship side. One wrote in reply 'the funniest part is it's true' while another said: 'I love that man. Such a s*** stirrer. Beautiful.'

Waxing lyrical about Falkirk, Rodgers had said: "Got to give immense credit to Falkirk. I've really enjoyed watching and analysing them because in terms of a football idea, the game, what John's doing...they're probably the best team that we've played this season in terms of how they want to work the game, how they want to work the ball. So they can be really proud of how they done.

"They pressed it really well, they were aggressive. They came with the 4-3-3 to try and disrupt and in the end they got a very good first goal.

"It's great. If it happens more when I have my starters playing that would be fantastic. I think their attitude to the game is very, very good. John has brought that to Raith and Falkirk and will get his rewards for that. But it's never easy. They had nice mobility, good technicians in the team, good pace in good areas and maybe not every team has that. They play a different style."

Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.