Matt Holland shares what Alistair Johnston did at full time vs Atalanta that proves his commitment to Celtic

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Celtic’s performance in the draw with Atalanta proved that the club can compete with Europe’s best teams in the Champions League.

After the Hoops took a sore one against Dortmund, many supporters would have been worried at the prospect of facing the current Europa League holders in their own backyard.

However, it wasn’t to be and Rodgers and his Bhoys managed to pull off a superb 0-0 result against an Atalanta side who are the top scoring team in the Serie A.

And Matt Holland shares just how much effort Celtic hero Alistair Johnston put in after spotting what he did as soon as the final whislte sounded in the Geswiss Stadium.

Celtic hero Alistair Johnston ‘in bits’ at full time vs Atalanta

The result clearly took a toll on the players. They had to chase, harry and at times defend with their body on the line and Holland said he spotted Johnston ‘in bits’ when the full time whistle blew.

Holland told talkSPORT 2, “They have push shift in. They’ve had to put a shift in because the home team have pushed, they’ve asked the questions, but Celtic will come up with the answers.

“I think two centre-backs, Scales and Trusty were excellent. First half, there were so many balls into the area. Pasalic got at the end of a few and should have scored. But generally, those two centre-backs have defended balls into the box superbly.

“Block after block, header after header. Schmeichel had to make a couple of decent saves and got through plenty of work in midfield. Idah who started the game did a decent job up top.

“You can go through the whole team. Johnston is absolutely out on his feet. He had cramp with about 10 minutes to go, and having made all five subs, he had to stay on.

“As soon as the final whistle blew, he just fell to the ground. He’s in absolute bits. Brendan Rodgers will be absolutely delighted, particularly after what happened in Dortmund.”

Alistair Johnston’s defensive stats vs Auston Trusty for Celtic’s Atlanta draw

It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Whilst Auston Trusty has been, rightly, getting all the Celtic plaudits, how do Johnston’s defensive stats bear up compared to the American defenders?

It’s clear that both players put in a superb shift for Celtic last night and it is little wonder Trusty didn’t pull up with cramp with the effort he put in.

Johnston has proven to be a crucial part of this Celtic team over the seasons and after last night, the Canadian has played a huge part in getting the Parhhead club closer to Champions League qualification.