Celtic were defensively excellent in last night’s goalless draw with Atalanta in Bergamo.
The trio of Kasper Schmeichel, Auston Trusty and Liam Scales in particular shone through on what was a much improved Champions League showing from their Borussia Dortmund hammering.
Brendan Rodgers urged his players to show their defensive capabilities at the back and they did just that as they thwarted the Black and Blues at every turn.
It was an imperious performance from the back four plus their goalkeeper but for the Italian hosts, manager Gian Piero Gasperini felt it was their profligacy more than anything that cost them all three points.
The boss was left disappointed with the share of the spoils as he believed his team were good value for the victory.
Mario Palasic hit the crossbar while Schmeichel kept the Croatian out with a string of saves and that was a source of frustration for the home side’s manager.
Gasperini was adamant Celts were there for the taking but he did acknowledge that it was just one of those nights for his players.
And that made it ‘complicated’ for La Dea who have now managed to go their opening three games in the competition without conceding a goal.
Gasperini felt Atalanta should have beaten Celtic
“It was one of those games where, despite all the hard work, the ball just did not want to go in,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia.
“We dominated the match, created many opportunities, but lacked sharpness and perhaps a bit of luck too. When you don’t break the deadlock in a game like this, it all becomes more complicated.
“Not conceding goals is a positive aspect and maintaining defensive solidity is crucial. However, the most damaging thing today is the fact we could not score, despite repeatedly getting into their penalty area.
“Personally, I would’ve preferred to win 3-2 rather than draw 0-0, because goals make the difference in the Champions League.”
Brendan Rodgers was happy with Celtic’s pragmatism
Atalanta’s numerous missed chances and lack of a cutting edge, Gasperini said, is what ‘irritated’ them and perhaps cost them in the final third.
“Perhaps we started to get irritated. When you know that you had so many chances and didn’t make the most of them, you can be tempted to rush things. That made us hasty and Celtic closed up even more,” he added.
“Honestly, I had never seen Celtic defend so deep before. I took Retegui off because I needed fresh legs and it is difficult at the moment to keep the strikers always on their toes with so many games. We needed to do something different.”
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