It’s the morning after the night before as Celtic head back to Glasgow with a huge Champions League point.
Brendan Rodgers’ men put their Dortmund horror show from matchday two behind them and delivered a defensive masterclass as they frustrated Atalanta to bag what could be a massive result in their quest to reach the knockout stages. The home side huffed and puffed in their search for a breakthrough but could not break down the Scottish champions with Kasper Schmeichel, Auston Trusty and Liam Scales providing a real solid base at the heart of the side that would not be beaten.
Hoops boss Rodgers was battered for his approach in the backyard of the German giants – but he executed the perfect game plan in Bergamo and he was full of praise for his troops in his post-match comments. The media across Europe also sat up and took note of Celtic’s exploits at the home of the current Europa League holders as they provided their assessment on the showdown.
Tuttomercato (Italy)
A tough match, with a lot of intensity and several goal-scoring opportunities. But in the end the score didn’t change at all: 0-0 and one point each, a draw that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth for Atalanta, who in the first half had several opportunities to unlock the match. No way, the winner was the defensive solidity of an old-school Celtic, a necessary strategy to avoid another defeat.
Bergamo & Sport (Italy)
They tried, they tried everything and more but the twenty-two total shots were not enough for the Atalanta players to win with a Celtic barricaded in front of Schmeichel, the best on the field for the Scots, for almost all ninety-four minutes of play. What a shame, because the victory would have been well deserved and legitimized by a performance, once again, of absolute European level while Celtic, mindful of the 7-1 in Dortmund, showed up in Bergamo with the clear intention of not repeating that unfortunate match. And so if you don’t score, if you try but lack the spark, the touch of a champion that makes the difference, the 0-0 remains a foregone conclusion.
So we can say that it was a cursed evening because it is difficult to find an Atalanta player who did not give his heart to win. Celtic may also be a fast and agile team in attack but this time they were not able to show the spectators the aforementioned virtues
L’Equipe (France)
After its solid draw against Arsenal (0-0, September 19) and its big win over Shakhtar Donetsk (3-0, October 2) , Atalanta Bergamo fell to Celtic this Wednesday (0-0), failing to return to the top 8 of the Champions League. Having been heavily beaten by Dortmund at the start of the month (1-7, on 1 October), on a series of seven defeats against Italian clubs in the C1 before the match, Celtic were nevertheless not in a good position against the Dea.
But Brendan Rodgers’ players put up a heroic defence against the Italian waves, with twelve shots conceded in the first half. Former Nice player Kasper Schmeichel made a string of decisive saves, notably in front of Mario Pasalic (24th) and Mateo Retegui (45th), while former Monaco player Pasalic also hit the bar (18th).
Kicker (Germany)
Atalanta Bergamo could only manage a 0-0 draw against Celtic Glasgow. The Nerazzurri clearly dominated the game, but initially missed many chances and then found themselves unable to get past the Scots’ compact defence.
A Bola (Portugal)
With two Portuguese players on the bench, Atalanta hosted Celtic in Bergamo for the third round of the Champions League this Wednesday, and both teams added another point to their progress. Despite not scoring any goals, the Italians were much more dangerous throughout the match, but were unable to break the deadlock, with the Scots opting to counterattack, but also without success.
The Guardian (UK)
There should be no embarrassment whatsoever attached to the scale of Celtic celebration which greeted confirmation of a draw in northern Italy. That Atalanta had run out of ideas long before the end of this intriguing encounter owed everything to a stirring Celtic response to events in Dortmund at the start of October.
On that chastening night in Germany, Brendan Rodgers watched his players trounced 7-1. The fallout – understandably to everyone apart from the Celtic manager himself – was epic. Rodgers insisted he and his team were “beat over the head with a stick” after last season’s beaten finalists ran riot. There is no requirement for metaphorical weaponry this week. Rodgers has shot back in the best manner possible.
Celtic needed to show defensive organisation, an unwillingness to make soft mistakes under pressure, and composure on the ball against the Europa League champions. Tick, tick, tick. Rodgers was able to tell a story of redemption during post-match media duties. Watching Italians could surely appreciate Celtic’s robustness.