Celtic have mixed emotions after their goalless draw against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have only lost one game in all competitions – that thumping at Borussia Dortmund – and they keep alive their outside chance of finishing in the top eight.
Yes, many will state that Celtic needed to beat Dinamo for that to happen, but it shows the progress that is being made when there is disappointment in the club’s current situation.
In truth, Celtic’s goalless draw in Croatia wasn’t an entertaining affair, it lacked that edge, spice and speed to the game.
The first half was forgettable, with the opposition hardly troubling the Bhoys as the away team controlled the match, before the action picked up after the break.
Kasper Schmeichel didn’t have much to do in between the sticks – and that’s back-to-back clean sheets on the road in Europe.
That’s worth a mention because of what happened to Celtic against Dortmund and how everyone has bounced back.
But Pat Bonner feels there is something Rodgers won’t openly admit in public after his team’s display in Zagreb, as he told BBC Radio Scotland.
Brendan Rodgers won’t admit there was ‘hesitation’ in Celtic’s play against Dinamo Zagreb
The usual front three started – Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda on the flanks, with Kyogo Furuhashi preferred instead of Adam Idah.
Two of those players were subbed in the match and Bonner felt that Celtic were ‘hesitating’ in their play, at times.
The legendary goalkeeper thinks it will be ‘concerning’ for the Celtic manager, but he won’t come out and say it.
“I do think Brendan will be, he won’t say it publicly, but he will be very happy with the point,” said Bonner. “He’ll praise the players and all of that.
“But I think he will be a wee bit concerned that there was that bit of hesitation at times. They got into half-decent positions. But what we have been used to wasn’t there. Whether that’s down to, not taking risks. They maybe don’t want to step out of position, at times.
“When you start getting the balance right. Do you take away what you are really good at, on the attacking side? The hesitation was evident in certain positions.”
What Pat Bonner noticed about Rodgers on the sidelines during Celtic’s draw v Zagreb
At the end of the day, a point on the road in the Champions League should never be looked down upon and that’s the case here.
That’s why Bonner feels that the manager will be ‘happy’, with the point, even if he feels that aspects of the play were lacking.
But Bonner explained how Rodgers was continuing to encourage his players from the sidelines and ‘clapping’ them as they tried to get something from the match.
“He will be happy because, coming here, you are never sure how it’s going to pan out,” added Bonner. “He will be very happy that he has come away with a result. Albeit, in the first half, he would have thought they might have gone on to win the game. But that’s not how the story ended up in the second half.
“I watched him on the sideline and coming across the pictures we were watching. He was clapping his hands. At times when Celtic got into positions. I am sure, he will pick up on all of those positives. Other years, we have gone to these venues and probably lost the game. They have come a good distance. Not play brilliantly and come away with a result.”
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