Italian Media React to ‘Scottish rock’ Celtic After Impressive Atalanta Draw

The Italian media were taken aback by Celtic’s defensively solid performance in Bergamo last night, which earned them a priceless Champions League point.

The Bhoys remained stout at the back throughout yesterday evening’s encounter with Atalanta and deservedly obtained a hard-fought 0-0 draw.

The Scottish mainstream media, and the majority of Celtic fans, for that matter, were surprised by Brendan Rodgers’s ripping up of the rule book as he opted for a more practical approach. Those in the Italian media were impressed by such an outlook.

Indeed, la Repubblica perhaps came up with the perfect description of the Hoops’ performance last night, hailing them as a ‘Scottish rock’ that Atalanta ‘failed to scratch’.

Elsewhere, Tuttosport.com spoke of a ‘bitter’ draw for the Bergamo side, who couldn’t get past Kasper Schmeichel despite 90 minutes of ‘siege’. La Gazzetta Dello Sport explained how Atalanta ‘tried in every way’ to score but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Corriere Della Sera praised Rodgers for turning his Celtic players into ‘unbeatable defenders’ and compared the Scottish champions’ approach to the Game to that of a typical, old-fashioned Italian style: “It seemed like the Italian Football of the 60s,” wrote journalist Pietro Serina.

“Barricades and long balls; nothing like aggression, attack and vertical Football.

“And those barricades (Celtic defended for a long time with 11 players in the last 25 meters) clogged up the spaces and slowed down the Nerazzurri’s ball circulation, to the point of making it sterile.”

Celtic can take utmost heart from their gutsy European display last night.

The Bhoys showed a side to their Game that has been kept under wraps, at least under Rodgers, for over a decade.

Four points from three Games is a respectable return for the Hoops, who now go into matchday four against RB Leipzig a week on Tuesday with a deserved sense of optimism.