UCL: Celtic recover from Dortmund thrashing
Atalanta 0 - 0 Celtic
Celtic secured a valuable Champions League point with a resilient defensive performance, holding last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta to a goalless draw in Bergamo.
This result marked a notable shift in fortunes for Celtic, who had previously lost all seven of their matches in Italy in this competition. Despite facing relentless pressure from the hosts, the Scottish champions stood firm, taking a crucial step towards progressing to the knockout stages.
Kasper Schmeichel played a pivotal role with several impressive saves, while Atalanta squandered several clear chances. Celtic’s defensive discipline proved key in denying the Serie A side, who grew increasingly frustrated as the match developed.
After two challenging away fixtures, Celtic now have the advantage of back-to-back home games against RB Leipzig and Club Brugge, with four points already secured.
Celtic’s Champions League campaign has been anything but predictable so far. A superb 5-1 home victory over Slovan Bratislava on matchday one was followed by a heavy 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund. However, this time around, Celtic looked far more organised and compact than the team that was so ruthlessly exposed in Germany. Their resilience in Bergamo earned them a fantastic clean sheet.
A closer look at what happened
Atalanta seemed intent on exploiting Celtic’s vulnerability to crosses, delivering a constant barrage of balls into the box during the first half. Mario Pašalić came closest, heading against the crossbar with Schmeichel beaten.
Earlier, Schmeichel had made an excellent save to deny Ademola Lookman, and he later pulled off another fine stop to thwart Mateo Retegui as Atalanta pushed hard towards the end of the first half.
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Celtic, though lacking many attacking chances, defended resolutely. Nicolas Kuhn briefly threatened after outpacing the Atalanta defence, but he was quickly closed down.
The visitors reached half-time at 0-0, giving them a solid platform to build on. They nearly made the perfect start to the second half when Alex Valle’s deflected strike forced Marco Carnesecchi to make a smart save.
As the home side increased the pressure once more, Schmeichel was again called into action to save a long-range effort from Marten de Roon.
Kyogo Furuhashi came off the bench and found himself in behind the Atalanta defence, but his lobbed attempt drifted narrowly wide.
Despite dominating possession, Atalanta struggled to break down a dogged Celtic side, whose determination and defensive discipline saw them through to a hard-earned point. The travelling Celtic supporters gave their side a warm ovation at the final whistle, celebrating a resolute performance and what could prove to be a precious point.
