BBC NEWS: James McFadden puts BBC man straight for picking holes in Celtic’s draw vs Atalanta with Arsenal reminder.
Celtic’s Champions League draw with Atalanta marked the club’s first point against Serie A opponents.
Serious doubts were raised about the Celtic manager’s capacity to lead his squad to one of Europe’s greatest teams and achieve a favourable Champions League outcome this season.
Following Celtic’s setback to Borussia Dortmund, Rodgers faced a similar test with Atalanta, which he and his team easily survived.
James McFadden defended Celtic’s success in Bergamo when BBC Radio Scotland downplayed the outcome.
McFadden supports Celtic and dismisses Atalanta’s connection with Dortmund.
Richard Gordon, speaking after the match, appeared to try to downplay the win by suggesting that the Italians are not as good as Borussia Dortmund, which sparked this conversation.
McFadden: “Rich, I know you say they’re nowhere near Dortmund, but Arsenal came here and put on a defensive display, but if Raya had made a world-class save, Atalanta would have won.”
“So they’re still on the good side, and I believe we’re always guilty of this. We did it with Slovan Bratislava: “Oh, they mustn’t be very good.”
Gordon: “I mentioned that Atalanta is a very excellent squad. I just don’t think they’re on the same level as Dortmund.
McFadden: “I know you’re not trying to downplay it, but I believe we sometimes look at it and say, ‘Well, that was a great display, but maybe they’re not at that level.'”
“Atlanta won 3-0 at Liverpool last season, and they are a very excellent team. They defeated Bayer Leverkusen as well.
James McFadden praises Celtic’s ‘excellent showing’ over Atalanta.
“This is the beauty of the new structure,” McFadden explained. “They’re not going to play against the same club, so you don’t really know where teams are, but I believe you’ve got to just appreciate the performance.
“And the fact that they’ve received a lot of criticism for how they approach these games, particularly away games against big clubs, and they’ve come away with a result.
“It’s been an excellent exhibition. People may look at that and think, “Well, they rode their luck or whatever,” but they defended effectively.
“That was some effort they put in.”
Celtic’s performance against a Serie A team in Italy in UEFA’s showpiece competition deserves credit. No matter how they accomplished it.
For too long, Rodgers and his squad have been lambasted for their Champions League performances and heavy losses against Europe’s premier teams.
So it’s strange that on a night when Celtic achieves a tremendous victory, someone from the broadcast media attempts to find flaws in it when the Parkhead club should be celebrated.
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