Celtic achieved a win against the Italians that might be ‘hugely significant’ in their bid to advance in the competition.
Neil Lennon has described Celtic’s goalless draw with Atalanta as one of manager Brendan Rodgers’ best results in his managing tenure.
The former Celtic manager praised Rodgers’ side’s impressive defensive performance in Bergamo, which kept last season’s Europa League champions at bay and earned them a crucial point in their bid to at least reach the play-offs.
Celtic had to rely on luck at times against the Serie A heavyweights, with Croatian attacker Mario Pasalic hitting the crossbar in the first half and missing numerous more scoring opportunities. However, Japanese pair Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda both came close for the visitors, who were on track to record an important clean sheet despite the absence of first-choice centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Lennon feels the outcome will have a significant impact on the Scottish champions’ European campaign, as he built it up.
Speaking on TNT Sports, the Parkhead legend said: “It’s a hugely significant result for Celtic and Brendan, and I think it’s one of Brendan’s best performances of his career.” Coming away against the Europa League champions after a heartbreaking defeat has undoubtedly earned him and his squad a lot of criticism, but they have demonstrated that they can go away and win.
“That was the one question everyone had about them. I nearly believe Celtic, at Celtic Park, can beat anyone. This is a critical point in terms of progressing to the final 16. I hope we don’t get ahead of ourselves and take each game as it comes, because Leipzig at home will be a tough test.
“But I agree with Johann (Mjallby) on that one; I truly enjoyed it. I really enjoyed that aspect of Celtic, delving in. It was a collective effort. I also thought the two centre-backs and Kasper were fantastic. That is your foundation for achieving results in Europe.”
Experienced goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was kept busy in Italy but claimed the back four in front of him “fought for their lives” to secure a share of the spoils.
He admitted: “It was a tough game, but we knew it was going to be a tough game coming here. We knew that we had to learn from the Dortmund game and we had to defend for our lives. We did that. I’m very proud of the boys, I think it was an incredible defensive performance, and when we then had the ball we carved out some very good chances.
“It is always going to be difficult; I believe they are the highest-scoring team in Europe at home, or at least in Italian football.” To come here and make a point is a good idea. We took a more practical approach in this one, taking less chances during the build-up due to their man-to-man system.
“We tried to exploit it, and I thought it worked a number of times, but it’s always going to be difficult away from home in Europe to deal with such an aggressive style. I felt we performed alright.”
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