As the analysis and praise over Celtic’s draw in Atalanta continues, Kasper Schmeichel shares what Brendan Rodgers did differently after learning from the defeat in Dortmund.
Rodgers and Celtic were under media scrutiny heading into the big Champions League game against the Italians and not many gave the Hoops a chance in the Gewiss Stadium.
Every Celtic player put in an excellent defensive display against Atalanta and now that Rodgers travels back to Glasgow with a point, Kasper Schmeichel has shared how the Hoops boss and the team ‘had to learn’ from the defeat in Germany to earn the draw in Bergamo.
Kasper Schmeichel ‘proud’ of Celtic’s ‘incredible defensive performance’ vs Atalanta
Schmeichel told TNT Sports, “It was a tough game. We knew was going to be a tough game coming here. So we knew that we had to learn from the Dortmund game, and we had to defend for our lives.
“We did that, very proud of the boys, I think it was an incredible defensive performance. When we then did have the ball, we did carve out some chances.
“But it’s always going to be tough against an opponent, I think they’re the highest-scoring team in Europe at home, at least in Italian football, so to come here and get a point, I think it’s a good point.”
Schmeichel admits Celtic took a ‘practical approach’ vs Atalanta
When asked what felt different in Celtic’s draw with Atalanta than at Dortmund, Schmeichel continued, “Obviously, we took a little bit more practical approach in this one where we took fewer chances in build up because of their system, their man-to-man system and we tried to exploit that.
“I thought a couple of times it worked but it’s always going to be difficult coming away from home in Europe, against a system that’s so aggressive.
“I thought we did all right.”
Brendan Rodgers got his Champions League tactics spot on last night without abandoning his attacking principles.
Rodgers clearly felt he proved his point after the Celtic boss took a swipe at the media in the post-match Atalanta press conference.
The Celtic manager bit back at people calling for him to be more pragmatic in his set-up to face the Serie A side and Rodgers will now feel vindicated.
The 0-0 draw puts Celtic in 20th place in the league above Champions League powerhouses Bayern Munich (23rd), AC Milan (25th) and Atletico Madrid (27th) who are all currently struggling for form in Europe’s top competition.
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