Celtic kept their first Champions League clean sheet for seven years as they held Europa League champions Atalanta to a goalless draw in Bergamo.
Brendan Rodgers set his team up to defend deep, keen to avoid a repeat of the 7-1 thrashing at Borussia Dortmund in their last European outing, and was defiant after his side produced the perfect response.
“It gives them the confidence that they can defend against a top team,” the Celtic boss said after the game.
“I’m not sure whether that was pragmatic enough for people. I don’t know, but we go out in every game to be structured and defend well.”
The game could have ended in differently had Atalanta’s Mario Pasalic been more clinical.
Pasalic missed five big chances, a feat only four other players had managed in the Champions League since the 2010/11 season, four of those coming in the first half. The midfielder hit the target just once from his six efforts on goal.
- As it happened: How Celtic held on for a famous clean sheet
- How many points are needed to reach CL knockouts?
- How the teams lined up | Match stats | Table
Atalanta equal unwanted record
- Atalanta tonight became just the second team on record in the UEFA Champions League (2008-09 onwards) to have 20+ shots and 50+ touches in the opposition box and not score a goal, along with Paris SG against Borussia Dortmund in last season’s semi-final second leg.
Celtic were more comfortable in the second half, despite ceding even more possession to their hosts, in large part because they stopped the flow of crosses from former Chelsea wing-back Davide Zappacosta, who created all his four chances in the first half.
Rodgers’ side are now on four points after three games in the Champions League, which pushes them further away from the elimination places, while Atalanta have five points at the end of gameweek three, sitting just shy of automatic qualification.
Rodgers answers critics with big defensive display
Celtic had not kept a clean sheet in the Champions League since beating Anderlecht 3-0 in the group stages in 2017. It took a humbling at the hands of Dortmund to get them there.
Rodgers, who also oversaw that victory seven years ago, insisted before the game that Celtic’s devastating defeat was the result of a few early goals “spooking” his players. There was a sense that the criticism, and suggestions of naivety, had angered him.
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Celtic learned their lessons and took a more practical approach in Italy, reducing their risk-taking in the build-up by starting Adam Idah up front, and playing a more direct brand of football.
Kasper Schmeichel played his part, becoming the first Celtic goalkeeper to make six saves and keep a clean sheet in the competition since 2003/04, while Auston Trusty was resolute at the back, making 10 headed clearances to keep Atalanta out.
The response from Celtic has more than answered their critics and earned them a massive point in the context of keeping their hopes of Champions League progression alive. Back-to-back home games against RB Leipzig and Club Bruges await.
Atalanta’s profligacy was, of course, partly behind Celtic keeping a clean sheet, but the Hoops worked for their luck in Italy.
Rodgers: Was that pragmatic enough?
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers:
“It gives them the confidence that they can defend against a top team.
“I’m not sure whether that was pragmatic enough for people. I don’t know, but we go out in every game to be structured and defend well.
“You know you’re going to get pushed back. But I think the confidence that it gives you when you can defend against the very best teams, that level and that concentration, then it will give them a huge boost.
“The concentration in the game was superb and you need to have it with the talent that they have, you’re talking about the highest goalscorers in Italian football.
“So to come here, play with that concentration, that commitment and still carry a threat when we had the ball was very, very pleasing. The players showed great courage, concentrated on what it is they had to do, defend the box well, shift, slide and it was a really, really good point for us.”
Trusty: We showed the world what we can do
Celtic defender Auston Trusty:
“Dortmund was just one of those games. The beauty of football is that there’s always another game, you can react and show the world what team you really are.
“Sometimes you just have those nights, and obviously that’s a night we’d never want to see again or feel again. That put a pit in our stomachs, so we wanted to come out here and show the world what we can do and what kind of team we really are.
“If they want to cross the ball, then I love heading the ball and being in a position to win tackles and also make any defensive play I can,” he said.
“So however they want to play, I adjust to it and I do my thing.
“Playing last year in the Premier League, I saw it as the best league in the entire world.
“So I’m used to these situations and I think I can bring a lot of expertise to this squad and to this organisation where I can be a leader in the team, be a leader on the pitch and off the pitch.”
Match stats: A big night for Celtic
- Atalanta tonight became just the second team on record in the UEFA Champions League (2008-09 onwards) to have 20+ shots and 50+ touches in the opposition box and not score a goal, along with Paris Saint-Germain against Borussia Dortmund in last season’s semi-final second leg.
- Tonight’s goalless draw has ended a run of 85 consecutive games in major European matches without a 0-0 for Celtic, with their last 0-0 draw coming against Benfica back in September 2012 in a UEFA Champions League match.
- Celtic have kept a UEFA Champions League clean sheet for the first time since September 2017 in a 3-0 win over Anderlecht, ending a run of 18 games without one in which they shipped 51 goals.
- Mario Pasalic had six shots without scoring for Atalanta tonight, the joint most by an Atalanta player in a UEFA Champions League match without finding the net, along with Duván Zapata against FC Midtjylland in December 2020.
