Paulo Bernardo

Struggling at the minute. Proved many times he's the complete package but confidence has taken a hit recently. He'll be back soon enough.

 

Was a really poor cameo off the bench but it happens. Serious questions need to be asked about McCowans lack of minutes however, especially in the big European games.

 

Was delighted when he came on but he was awful. He actually looked really immobile.

 

Big fan of Bernardo but barely put a foot right when he came on! Happens though, sure he'll bounce back.

 

Thought he was * poor 2nd half. Him & AJ were shocking. He’s gone backwards & I was someone who thought he was the next big thing for us. Really hope he rediscovers his form again.

 

A diabolical cameo..

His first or second touch was terrible when he came on..

 

He's a fantastic player but he's going through a real rough patch.

Still young and has plenty of time to rediscover his form, but he's comfortably behind McCowan, Hatate and Engels for me.

 

When’s the next international break? Desperately needing a goal for u21 Portugal team and getting the next 15 games top form confident

 

He's hiding...for a guy who is the Portuguese under 21 captain he really needs to stamp his authority on games...just floating through games doing nowhere near enough.

 

Said it for a while but I couldn’t understand the fans that were desperate for him to be ahead of Hatate. He hasn’t shown anywhere near enough this season.

 

He's in and out the team. Needs a good run, still think he is an exceptional player when he's on it

 

Just turned 23, he needs to kick up a level now but needs the game time to do so. Thought he done well in the holding role when McGregor got rested a few weeks ago, could rotate him in there more often domestically.

McCowan should be getting more minutes just now though in the big games, he brings far more energy.

 

I would start him and McCowan tomorrow with Engels. He started the season really well but since being ill around the cup final has struggled in most games. He has looked slow and sluggish compared to before.

He just needs a performance to kick in again. Some fresh legs would help for tomorrow.

 

Hard when you are in and out the team without having that consistency.

 

As Celtic prepare to face Aston Villa in the final game of the UEFA Champions League league phase, Paulo Bernardo spoke to the media at Villa Park to preview the highly-anticipated clash.

The Portuguese midfielder shared his excitement about the match against Aston Villa, who have impressed in the competition so far.

With Celtic already qualified for the next stage, some might expect less pressure on the team. However, Bernardo dismissed that notion, emphasising the team’s constant focus on achieving the best possible results.

“We face a top team in England, so we are really excited to play," the player said. "It’ll be a great match to play and watch.”

“At Celtic, we are used to playing with pressure in all the games. We have a lot of responsibility to win. This is a normal game to us, it’s not different. We will try to do our best to get a great result here.”

A victory against Aston Villa could open the door to potentially finishing in the top eight and automatic qualification to the last 16. Bernardo reflected on the team’s journey so far and their determination to take the next step.

“I think it would be great if we can achieve that,” the Portuguese midfielder said. “Right now, we’ve done very well to get to this stage. We’re really happy with our progress. We have that opportunity, and we’ll try to make it happen.

“It’s always great to win every game,” he added. “Like I said, we’ll try to win. We are a big club in Scotland, and we’ll try our best to get a great result.


One of the big talking points ahead of the game is the return of Jota, with the Portuguese winger rejoining Celtic to bolster the squad for the remainder of the season.

And Paulo Bernardo spoke warmly about his fellow compatriot and the impact he can make on the team.

“I think he’s a great player, and I’m really excited to play with him,” Bernardo said. “He brings a lot to the group. He’s a great player, a great person, and I’m really excited to play with him.

“He told me before I joined Celtic that if I needed something, I could count on him. Now I’ve told him the same. I’m here if he needs anything.”

 

Think having Jota back will be good for him. They new each other back at Benfica and likely trained together as youths. Could develop a good understanding on the pitch.

 

Definitely intrigued to see what could come out of having Bernardo and Jota in an 11 together.

 

Paulo Bernardo was humming along to the Celtic Jota tune even before he followed the Portuguese favourite to Parkhead. And the midfielder is convinced the returning Hoops ace will be even more on song in his second spell.

Bernardo was delighted to see his old Benfica pal sign up for another stint with Celts after 18 months away. The pair grew up together in Portugal and Jota helped give the playmaker the big sell when the Scottish champs came calling two summers ago. But they never got the chance to hit the high notes together with the wide man hitting the road for Saudi Arabia and then France.

The bold move to bring him back has paid off for Brendan Rodgers though and Bernardo reckons hearing the fans chant the old Jota song will be music to everyone’s ears at Parkhead. He said: “I heard the song before – even when I was still in Portugal! I think it’s a nice song. Jota did very well the last two years when he was here. The fans love him and I think he loves the fans too


He’s really happy. I talked to him and he’s really excited to be part of the club again and to be here with us. He just wants to play football again. It’s nice to be with him again. We played together in Benfica for one pre-season


I think I knew him as a kid. He was always at Benfica, like me. We were together for just one pre-season because he’s three years older than me and I was in a few teams below him.

“His game was always to dribble and to go forward to the players and score goals and make assists. I think he’s a really complete player and I think he will definitely help the group right now. He was unbelievable at Benfica and he was unbelievable at Celtic. I hope he does better here now


Jota won’t be on board for tonight’s Champions League clash against Aston Villa in Birmingham – and neither will departed striker Kyogo. The Japanese hitman headed to Rennes while Jota arrived in the other direction

Bernardo admitted it was a blow to see the forward go – but with Jota checking in and talk of Kieran Tierney on his way in the summer or possibly early, the midfielder is convinced Celtic are in strong shape. He said: “It’s sad to lose a player. Kyogo was an unbelievable player at Celtic, I think one of the best. But yeah, it’s football and we have to move on and he has to move on too. Football is like that and we need to be ready for that


Amid the flurry of transfer activity and pile of gossip going in the final week of the window, it has almost been lost in the wash Celtic have a heavyweight Champions League clash this evening. The Hoops have already banked their place in the knockout stages but have an outside chance of finding in the top eight.


Okay, they might need some divine intervention to get the sequence of results required to get there, but they are technically still in the mix. Villa have a more realistic chance of bypassing the play-off round if they claim three points – and there’s also a suggestion from some stattos that it might even be better if Celts DON’T win tonight, given the state of the table and potential opponents

Trying to work it all out is enough to give paracetamol a headache and Bernardo admitted he’s not even tried. But that won’t be the case against Villa – because he’s not even considering anything other than going out and attempting to beat the English big guns.

Bernardo said: “I don’t know (about who they could face) and I’ve not tried to see. We have a job to do before and then let’s see. It’s Champions League night again and I’m very excited to be here and to play at this level again. We face a top team in England, so we are really excited to play. I think it will be a great match to watch.


We want to win all the games so we will do our best to get a very good result here. In Celtic, I think we are used to playing with pressure all the games, because we have a lot of responsibility to win every game.

“So we are used to pressure, and I think this is just a normal game to us, not playing differently, because we will try to do our best and to get a great result here.”

Bernardo is also well aware of the extra spice that gets sprinkled on these cross border collisions. The Portugal under 21 skipper knows what it’s like to go up against the noisy next door neighbours and the added incentive it brings


He said: “I heard a little bit about the rivalry but we are here to do our job. We will try to win of course, we are at Celtic, so we will do our best to win the game and beat them. It probably is like Portugal, I played against Spain before and teams in Spain. We always want to win.

Yeah, it’s pride but we are here to do our job and some things we have to put on the side and then put the work in


We are doing very well in the Champions League and domestically. We won’t stop here, we have another match from the group stage and after we start the knockout. So we will try to do our best game here then focus on the next one.

 

He was really poor when he came on