Pundit hits back at the negativity he’s heard about Celtic’s Champions League draw with Atalanta

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Celtic ended their long streak of away defeats in the Champions League with a superb draw at Atlanta last week.

Celtic hadn’t won away in UEFA’s flagship tournament since 2017 when Brendan Rodgers’ team defeated Anderlecht in an impressive 3-0 away win.

The last time the Hoops earned a point away from home in the Champions League was when Celtic earned a 1-1 away draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in October 2022.

So when Celtic delivered an impressive result away at Atalanta, only positivity should surround Rodgers and his team after shutting out Serie A’s top scorers, right?

Apparently not.

Criticism of Celtic’s ‘thouroughly deserved’ UEFA Champions League Atalanta draw branded ‘irrelevant’

67 Hail Hail previously told how James McFadden also defended Celtic’s Atalanta draw after BBC pundit tried to pick holes in it by comparing the Italian side to Borussia Dortmund.

But now, pundit Ewen Cameron is next up to stick up for Celtic after what he’s heard been said about the Hoops’ result in Bergamo.

Cameron told The Big Scottish Football Podcast [19m, 49s], “I thought Celtic thoroughly deserved a draw.

“And I know there are fans out there and fans who are not fans of Celtic going, ‘Oh, they were lucky, they got battered and the possession and the XG wasn’t great’.

“That’s irrelevant. They’re playing against a Serie A side who are a better team than Celtic. They’re away from home. They’re playing in Europe. They get a great draw.

“And that point could be the difference between qualifying for the playoffs or not. I thought it was a huge result for them. I thought they battled brilliantly.

“And there were a couple of wee moments, had the final pass been right, they could have actually got more than the point.

“And there was one particular chance and I thought, Kyogo, the cross that came over and he takes it first time on the volley. He could have controlled that. He was in the box. He could have controlled that with his right foot.”

The praise Celtic have had after earning UEFA Champions League draw vs Atalanta

Brendan Rodgers previoulsy hit out at criticism Celtic recieved for his team’s defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.

However, Celtic have has plenty of praise from many quarters for the point they earned at the Gewiss Stadium.

With four points from nine with two of the hardest opponents out of the way, the draw in Italy has given Brendan Rodgers a superb chance of getting out of the league phase.

Chris Sutton called Celtic ‘brave’ after watching the draw and John Hartson said the Bhoys’ Atlanta draw was ‘heroic’.

Joe Hart praised Celtic for deflating Atalanta and Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer both said the Hoops’ result was a ‘really good point’ earned after being under the cosh for much of the game.

So whilst a club the size of Celtic will always be under the scrutiny of the media and fans of other clubs, the praise Rodgers and the team have had for the draw in Italy has far outwieghed the negative voices.