Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has say on Luis Palma penalty style and tells players where to improve after shock draw

The champions were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Motherwell

Brendan Rodgers looks dejected after Celtic's 1-1 draw with Motherwell.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers refused to take issue with the complicated, stuttering, angled penalty run up of Luis Palma as the Honduran became the latest player to miss a spot-kick.

The Irishman doubled down on the need of his players to improve on the “skill” of taking penalties after adjudging Liam Kelly’s save from Palma’s spot-kick to have been decisive as the Scottish champoions were held to a 1-1 draw after conceding a 90th minute equaliser against Motherwell.

On a day when Celtic were awarded two spot-kicks following VAR checks, Palma passed up his chance to doubled his scoring tally from the spot for the club to two – after converting in the 6-0 win over Aberdeen just before the international break – in the 66th minute by having his award blocked by Kelly down to his right. It seemed this might be made irrelevant when David Turnbull tucked one away in the 86th minute, only for Jon Obika to divert in from a corner four minutes later. But Rodgers refused to see a problem in how Palma addressed the ball for his kick. But did acknowledge a wider concern with three of Celtic’s eight penalties not finding the target this season after previous aberrations from Reo Hatate and Turnbull.

“If it goes in, it’s a great run up, isnt it?” said the Celtic manager. “When he scored the first time it was a good run up, it’s never so good when you miss. In fairness, the keeper’s made a decent save but it’s all about variety with penalty takers. I know he practised yesterday, didn’t go that side, and was working on the keeper’s left. But went that side but that is the choice he made. He is brave enough to take them. But disappointed we didn’t take that opportunity.

“I was looking before I came in here that there have been a number of penalties missed. These are decisive moments in games and you have to be ready to take them. You are never always going to be three, four, five up in games. You get that opportunity, you have to take it. It is something that the players who are going to be the penalty takers are working on every day. We have to stay focused on that because it is a skill. You can’t replicate the pressure but penalties are a skill, and a skill we have to be better at.

“But when we did go in front then every moment after that is a decisive one. I think it was probably their only effort in the second half, and we never defended it. Which was a surprise because we have been defending set-pieces well. So very frustrating.”