The Celtic fans are looking forward to the end of the international break so that the real football can start up again at the weekend.
Celtic face Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday and then after that, Atalanta in the Champions League is up next.
And whilst getting a result against the current Europa League holders might prove difficult, Brendan Rodgers has reason to be optimistic when he sees what Celtic have achieved before against opposition from the Serie A.
Celtic’s best Europa League results vs Lazio, Inter Milan and Udinese
Celtic have faced Italian opposition in Europe 22 times and have won four, drawn five and lost 13. So whilst the odds are stacked against Brendan Rodgers’ team, all hope should not be lost after past results that have been achieved by the Hoops in the past.
- Udinese 1 v 1 Celtic: 15.12.2011.
Neil Lennon’s Celtic came close to creating history and achieving the club’s first win on Italian soil this season. Gary Hooper opened the scoring on the 28th minute before Antonio di Natale scored in added-on time to level in the first half.
Celtic hung on for a point and that elusive away Italian win would have to wait.
- Celtic 3 v 3 Inter Milan: 19.02.2015
Ronny Deila’s took Celtic in the last 32 of the Europa League this season but found themselves going 2-0 behind after goals from Xheridan Shaqiri and Rodrigo Palacio after just 13 minutes.
Stuart Armstrong and Adam Matthews drew Celtic level with a two-minute double salvo until Palacio struck again in the 45th minute to put the Italians 3-2 up after the break.
John Guidetti rescued a draw in the 93rd minute but it wasn’t enough to stop Celtic exiting the tournament 4-3 on aggregate.
- Lazio 1 v 2 Celtic: 07.11.2019
Neil Lennon is up again and this time he created history as Celtic recorded their first-ever win in Italy after goals from James Forrest and a 92nd-minute winner from Olivier Ntcham cancelled out Cirio Immobile’s first-half goal to record this famous victory.
Celtic’s Champions League wins vs Juventus and AC Milan
With Celtic competing in the Champions League, the Glasgow giants have also recorded famous wins against two of the best teams in the Italian top flight too.
- Celtic 4 v 3 Juventus: 31.10.2001
In what was one of the most exciting Champions League games in modern times, Martin O’Neill’s Celtic recorded a famous Celtic Park win.
A Chris Sutton double with Henrik Larsson and Jos Valgaeren also on the scoresheet helped Celtic cancel out goals from David Trezeguet (x2) and Alessandro Del Pierro to record the Parkhead club’s first and last win over the Turin side.
- Celtic 2 v 1 AC Milan: 03.10.2007
Three second-half goals lit up this fixture after Stephen McManus put Celtic ahead in the 62nd minute before Kaka equalised with a penalty just seven minutes later.
But in a thrilling finale, Scott McDonald did this:
And it helped Celtic collect a precious three points to put Gordon Strachan down as the first manager to take the Hoops out of the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history.
So whilst getting a positive result at Atalanta may be difficult, Celtic have already proven that Italian sides in Europe can be beaten and results can be achieved even on their own grounds.
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