Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone was left impressed by the performance of Celtic in Wednesday night’s 2-2 UEFA Champions League draw between the two sides.
The Bhoys found themselves ahead in the match on two occasions thanks to Matt O’Riley and Luis Palma, but the Spaniards showed their own quality and resilience to leave Glasgow with a point.
The first half, in particular, was a great showing from Brendan Rodgers’ outfit and fans can take a lot of heart from the team performing so comfortably at the elite level.
Diego Simeone says Atletico “really struggled” vs Celtic
Simeone delivered his own verdict on the balance of play after the match, stating [The Herald]: “As I expected, they started the game really well, as they did against Feyenoord and Lazio. We really struggled to contain them and their first attack resulted in a goal. In the first half we didn’t play the way I wanted us to. But I was really pleased with the second half. That was a real Champions League performance from us, we showed a lot of personality.
“I always like to focus on the positives, which for me as the second half. In the first half, we didn’t have the speed that the game required, we weren’t up to scratch and they combined well in our half and scored a couple of goals. In the second half, the substitutes made a really big impact.
“Our opposition played well, they were at home, they got off to a great start. We need to increase the time we are playing at the level we were in the first half. But we responded well and that is what we have to see if we are going to compete in the Champions League.
“I wasn’t surprised at all. I saw how well they played against Feyenoord and Lazio. In the second half they ran out of ideas a bit, but I was impressed with their speed and dynamism and their ability to move the ball forward at pace and create chances.”
We’re still waiting on a truly impressive Champions League win with this group of players, but it is clear that improvement is being made. Atletico are a fantastic team but Rodgers’ team showed they can go toe-to-toe.
While it was disappointing not to get the three points, Celtic didn’t really look like losing the match either. The three remaining games in the group all look difficult but a victory would really give fans hope that the Celtic boss can launch a proper European assault in the second season of his return.
If the team keep performing like they did last night, surely more points are on the way.
In other news, Celtic and Adidas rake in remarkable record merchandise revenue as fan value made clear.
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