Celtic secure Champions League point by keeping Atalanta at bay | Champions League

There is no requirement for the big stick this week.

Brendan Rodgers used his media work ahead of the game in northern Italy to insist that a particular object would be used metaphorically to give him and Celtic a knock on the head during routine clashes in European competition. The 7-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of the month was particularly stressful for Rodgers.

That was a more than sufficient reaction. Celtic defended exceptionally well against Atalanta. The goalless equalizer was just reward for the Scottish champions' efforts. Celtic were organized and physically robust throughout the 94 minutes. Atalanta, as expected, dominated the ball. What they didn't do, however, was lay siege to the Celtic goal in the way you would expect. Celtic have shown that the Dortmund debacle may not affect their Champions League campaign after all. Atalanta ran out of ideas long before full time.

Lost in the shuffle of the post-Dortmund debate was that Celtic had opened their Champions League campaign with a stunning victory. This result over Slovan Bratislava, as well as the upcoming visits of Club Brugge and Young Boys to Glasgow, means that Rodgers' team has a very good chance of progressing to the play-off round.

So the consequences associated with this game did not concern the return of points. Rather, it was a test of whether Celtic could be more tenacious than they had been on a painful night in Germany. The reigning Europa League champions would always provide a strong opponent. Celtic faltered in a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen on Saturday, in which a 2-0 lead was squandered. The Italians had every reason to be confident.

Nevertheless, Atalanta had been inefficient in the opening phase. Within 20 seconds, Reo Hatate had won an easy Celtics possession, which seemed to be an ominous sign of things to come. Instead, visitors were generally completely disciplined. When concentration was needed, Celtic showed it. They also posed a danger on the counterattack; Nicolas Kühn should have done better when he stormed towards the goal in the ten^Th Minute. Arne Engels put the home goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi to the test and the Belgian's shot was blocked.

Atalanta's early territorial dominance went unrewarded. Mario Pasalic appeared to score but fired his shot straight at Kasper Schmeichel's legs. Alistair Johnston made an excellent save from Ademola Lookman a minute before half-time. These incidents and a header from Mateo Retegui that Schmeichel saved were the sum of Atalanta's chances in the first half. Celtic went into the dressing room at half-time 5-1 down in Dortmund; In comparison, this was a moral victory.

Five minutes after the restart, Álex Valle almost scored Celtic's unlikely lead. Instead, the full-back's deflected shot flew just over the goal and Carnesecchi defended himself. Isak Hien headed wide and Marten de Roon forced Schmeichel into action from distance as Atalanta tried to diffuse the frustration in the stands.

Gian Piero Gasperini's next move caused a stir. Retegui, Serie A's top scorer, was withdrawn just before the hour. Rodgers responded by replacing Adam Idah with Kyogo Furuhashi. The Irishman had been a surprising choice to lead Celtic's attack from the start. Idah spent 68 minutes on the sidelines, which he believes was hardly his fault.

Gasperini became increasingly agitated. Davide Zappacosta found Schmeichel's side netting while his teammates screamed for a pass. Celtic's test 20 minutes before the end of the game was a test of endurance. Such intensive defense had to cost energy. Engels left, as did Daizen Maeda, while Rodgers was keen to maintain freshness. Valle caught Furuhashi with a wonderful ball from deep, but the Japanese player's attempted chip was denied by Atalanta's goalkeeper.

Hien headed over Schmeichel's crossbar in stoppage time. Celtic knew they were right. The cheers from the Green and Whites suggested that what was happening meant much more.