Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers believes the decision to send off Jeremy Toljan "took the game away" from his side in their defeat to Valencia but had no complaints about his players' performances.

The Spanish side were 1-0 winners at the Mestalla, going through 3-0 on aggregate, but Toljan's first half dismissal for a second yellow card was a turning point after a strong start from the visitors.

Rodgers disagreed with the decision but applauded his players for the confidence with which they approached the match and the quality of their play.

"We started the game ever so well," he said. "We were nice and tight defensively, pressing at the right times.

"And when we had the ball we showed a lot of confidence in not just keeping the ball but we carried a threat in our penetration.

"We looked like we were building our way through and were going to get that ball that we craved."

He added: "I thought the referee took the game away from us. So that was disappointing. The players came together but I didn't think it was a second yellow card. If anything I thought it was a free kick to us because he came in on the blind side and had contact with Jeremy, which has put him over.

"That changes the dynamic of the game but even still, the bravery of the players was incredible. They kept going and had a big chance to go 1-0 up with Kristoffer [Ajer] and then obviously tired a bit towards the end.

"Still, we can do better with the goal and that's been the difference over the games. At the key moments we haven't defended so well.

"But otherwise we were excellent and I'm very proud of the team."

The defeat ended Celtic's European adventures for another year but, asked if the round of 32 was as far as it was reasonable for the team to go, Rodgers said the ambition was always to go further.

"I think you're always looking to improve," he said. "It's always going to be difficult for us but we can never give up hope.

"You see the level of the team and we played very, very well this evening.

We've got to go and qualify for European competition next season and keep trying to progress."