Paulo Bernardo welcomes competition after Arne Engels claims midfield spot

Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo has welcomed the competition in the centre of the park despite losing his place to record signing Arne Engels on Saturday.

Bernardo stepped up to the plate following the departure of Matt O’Riley, Celtic’s player of the season last year, and delivered an impressive performance in a 3-0 win over Rangers two days after the transfer window closed.

But he found himself on the bench on Saturday as Engels started and scored in a 2-0 win over Hearts following his £11m transfer from Bundesliga side Augsburg.

Bernardo signed on a permanent deal in the summer following his season-long loan from Benfica and fully understood he would continue to face a battle for a place in Brendan Rodgers’ team.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League opener against Slovan Bratislava, he said: “It’s really good for us and for me. Midfield competition is always good. The team needs that. We can grow faster than without the competition.

“We have a lot of games so it will be nice to have very good quality in those positions.

“I will continue to work hard, if I start or if I’m on the bench. We have competition with each other and we are here to win our spot on the team.”

Bernardo is relishing the new-look Champions League format, which sees Celtic play eight teams.

The 22-year-old said: “It’s a different format so I think we have more chance now. It’s like a league. It could be good for us but step by step, game by game, let’s see what we can achieve.

“It will always be difficult. We are here to dream too so we will do as much as we can to achieve that knockout stage.”

On paper, this game is the one Celtic fans will target most for three points, a home match against a side from the only seeded pot below them.

But Bernardo said: “I don’t see the game as the most easy because we will not face easy games in this competition.

“We have to do our jobs and I think if we do well we can get three points. But we need to focus on the game and respect the opponent.”