Celtic

Speaking before Celtic's Champions League match with Atalanta, manager Brendan Rodgers says his side's critics are waiting for them to slip up.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter in Bergamo

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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has been speaking to the media prior to his side's Champions League clash with Atalanta in Bergamo.

Here are the key lines:

• Rodgers confirms centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, who has been training, and left-back Greg Taylor are both out of the game.

• The Celtic boss, who has faced criticism for his European approach, says Europa League winners Atalanta have demonstrated what can be done if you don't compromise your beliefs.

• He adds that he will always be a coach who wants aggressive, attacking football and that will never change.

• ⁠Celtic are looking to respond to the 7-1 hammering they suffered at Borussia Dortmund earlier this month and Rodgers says none of the players want a "gutting" experience like that again.

• On the Dortmund defeat, Rodgers believes the loss gave people the chance to heavily criticise his side.

Tino
Fan writer

Celtic are back in Champions League action this week as we take on Atalanta in matchday three, but the feeling is we're very much heading to Italy in hope rather than expectation.

I guess that's something to do with a certain 7-1 scoreline.

The irony is we went to Dortmund with a genuine feeling we could pull off a result given our early-season form up to that point, before the Germans brought us crashing back down to earth.

The optimism on that occasion stemmed from a run of nine wins on the bounce, but as we learned all too painfully - and I won't win any bonus prizes for stating the obvious - there's a monumental difference between St Johnstone away and Dortmund away.

It's a pattern we've now witnessed on several occasions over the years and the big question is, will we learn from our mistakes this time around?

I'm a massive fan of Brendan Rodgers and was delighted when he returned for a second spell, but his response to the Dortmund defeat has given some cause for concern.

With the form we were in I had no issue with taking the game to Nuri Sahin's side, but as soon as we conceded the third goal (closely followed by the fourth and fifth) a rethink surely should have been on the cards?

Rodgers, however, maintained that this is how we play and has given no real indication that we'll change it up. Against the current Europa League holders, that again could prove very costly.

My hope, though, is that the manager is saying one thing to the media and something notably different to his players. It certainly wouldn't be the first time we've seen such an approach.

With the exception of the Neil Lennon-inspired win over Barcelona in 2012, it's extremely rare for a modern Celtic side sit in and park the bus, nor is that what I'm hoping to see in Bergamo.

What I would like is a more pragmatic approach against the Italians, and rather than our traditional 4-3-3, could we instead adopt a 4-5-1 that very quickly allows us to transition from defence into attack when the opportunity arises?

Within that, can we pair Callum McGregor with another deep-lying midfielder to provide more protection to our defence?

And is Adam Idah the man for the lone striker role, providing an out-ball that would allow us to progress up the park and find some breathing space?

These are all questions for Rodgers, and we'll find out the answers on Wednesday night. The hope is we can take a positive result home with us - but as always with Celtic in Europe, expect the unexpected.

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external

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Gian Piero Gasperini says his Atalanta side must be wary of Celtic's threat despite the Scottish champions' European woes against top-level opposition.

Brendan Rodgers' men are looking for a Champions League response away to last season's Europa League winners after suffering a 7-1 hammering at Borussia Dortmund.

But 66-year-old Italian Gasperini admires Celtic's approach and will not write off Celtic, who won their opener 5-1 against Slovan Bratislava.

"Against the top teams, if you perhaps get your approach wrong, you can concede a lot of goals," he said.

"So we will be taking into account the past two matches, but all the other games, such as the ones in the league as well.

"Atalanta would never underestimate an opponent. Celtic, especially in attack, are a very dangerous side, a very fast, rapid team. They're used to winning and winning well.

"We have to be at our very best, very attentive of their rapidity and their ability to always score lots of goals. Celtic always tend to score and get into scoring positions."

Atalanta suffered some heavy defeats during their first two Champions League group campaigns in 2019 and 2020, including a 5-0 home loss against Liverpool, but went on to reach the last 16 each time.

And Gasperini's attacking style firmly paid off last season when they beat Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield on their way to winning the Europa League.

The former Inter Milan manager, who is in his ninth season in charge of Atalanta, says "you can never ignore your spirit and style".

"You have to be balanced," he added. "In Italy, we say the best teams are the ones that have the best defence. But if you look at the numbers, it's actually the teams that also score a lot of goals.

"When we played Liverpool at home, we conceded five goals for the first time. Another time, five goals against Manchester City. But we learned from those experiences.

"We then picked up draws and then eventually went on to win those kind of games."

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Celtic have received a boost for their Champions League game with Atalanta as Cameron Carter-Vickers took part in their final training session.

The centre-back was photographed on the Celtic Park pitch on Tuesday as Brendan Rodgers' side continued their build-up to Wednesday's game in Bergamo.

The United States international's previous appearance was in the 5-1 opening Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava.

The defender did not finish the game after a lingering toe injury took its toll and he has not featured since.

Celtic have only kept one clean sheet in five matches during his absence and lost 7-1 against Borussia Dortmund in their second Champions League game.

Out-of-favour 24-year-old winger Luis Palma has taken to social media to hint that he is ready to wait for his chance at Celtic after again being left on the bench at the weekend. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Brendan Rodgers is hoping to see an "aggressive" Celtic side against Atalanta on Wednesday night.

After a comfortable win over Slovan Bratislava in their opening Champions League match of the season, Celtic were beaten 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund in their most recent European outing.

And after Saturday's 2-2 draw with Aberdeen domestically, Rodgers wants to see a reaction from his players in northern Italy against a team he was full of praise for.

"Listen, you can always concede goals," Rodgers said. "It's all down to looking at us in the press, and it'll be a totally different game.

"Atalanta, having played them before and obviously seen them play, it's a totally different game. They're probably the best man-to-man marking team in world football, how they work.

"The football will be different, but we've already had that.

"If you're not quite on it, and you're not compact, and you're not tight, and you're not aggressive, you can get punished at the very highest level."

BBC Sportscene pundits Neil McCann and Barry Robson reflect on Celtic's attacking threat in their 2-2 draw against Aberdeen.

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

It was a huge result for Aberdeen on Saturday but it's worth remembering Celtic didn't actually lose this weekend and played well for significant parts of the match.

Arne Engels was the pick for Brendan Rodgers' side, the midfielder struck the top of the bar, released Kyogo Furuhashi down the line for the opener with a great pass and was also a goal threat.

It will be intriguing to see how he and his teammates get on against Atalanta and what lessons have been learned from the drubbing in Dortmund.

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Atalanta warmed up for Wednesday's Champions League visit by Celtic with a 2-0 victory away to Venezia despite head coach Gian Piero Gasperini facing mounting personnel problems.

Sead Kolasinac joined five other key absentees, with the Bosnia & Herzegovina international suffering from flu in the only change from the side that thumped Genoa 5-1, while fellow centre-half and Sweden international Isak Hien came off at half-time on Sunday feeling ill.

Ademola Lookman was also withdrawn at the break with the Nigeria striker feeling the effects of travel delays while facing Libya with his national team.

If that was not enough, Gasperini revealed that Brazil midfielder Ederson had played through the pain of toothache before being withdrawn with 15 minutes left.

Atalanta went into the game without Ivory Coast full-back Odilon Kossounou, former West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca and three other Italy internationals - club captain Rafael Toloi, fellow centre-back Giorgio Scalvini and on-loan Frosinone midfielder Marco Brescianini.

It did not prevent the Bergamo side recording their third straight victory to go four games without defeat since losing at home to Como and sit in sixth place in Serie A, six points behind leaders Napoli.

German midfielder Mario Pasalic opened the scoring after seven minutes, with Argentina forward Mateo Retegui adding the second two minutes into the second half.

The latter, their summer signing from Genoa, is the man of the moment having scored eight times in 11 outings this season - all eight coming in Serie A.

Meanwhile, Gasperini insisted he would not be underestimating Celtic despite the Scottish champions' 7-1 hammering by Borussia Dortmund in their previous Champions League game, pointing out that "we're facing a team used to winning championships, a fast team, especially in attack".

Atalanta will head into the Champions League meeting with Celtic without six of their key players through injury. (Daily Record), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

Peter: Last two league games have been very poor. Play like that midweek in the Champions League and we will be looking at a record no-one wants to see. With the exception of Engels, our recent signings are well below level required. I have said it before but we must consolidate our position in Scotland as a priority. Anything else is a distraction at the moment.

Patrick: This was great for a neutral, not so much for a Celtic fan. A lot of absent performances today, to the point that only Liam Scales and Kyogo really showed up, quite disappointing otherwise. Thankfully we managed to hold on to a point due to a solid first half.

Frank: Lax for 15-20 minutes and that cost us. However, Aberdeen were refreshing in a great game. One of the best I have seen in recent years

David: Aberdeen's goals were a deja vu of the Borussia Dortmund game: they waltzed past Celtic's midfield and defence without any problems to score. Is the coaching wrong? Why are players standing off so much? Giving the ball away in defensive situations because of the Brendan Rodgers 'we must play out from the back' mentality. Clear the lines first, surely.

Steven: Celtic not clinical enough to kill off plucky Aberdeen. Good management on their part allowed them back into the game to grab a deserved draw. Must do better Brendan and co in the League Cup semi.

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• Aberdeen have scored in their last 13 games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of 16 games from 24 October 2014 to 21 February 2015.

• Celtic have scored in their last 17 games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of 27 games from 1 October 2022 to 7 May 2023.

• Kyogo Furuhashi has scored four goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), no Celtic player has more.

• Jamie McGrath has assisted six goals in the Premiership this season (two in this game), more than any other player.

Celtic squandered a two-goal lead and lost their 100% start to the Scottish Premiership season as they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to nearest challengers Aberdeen.

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Brendan Rodgers tells BBC Scotland: "We are disappointed. We had a good control of the game in the first half. We could have had more goals. We get punished for a really careless period.

"We were not aggressive enough. If you don't press well, you are always susceptible to that pass in behind. The second one is careless, we give it away in a really poor area.

"We found our rhythm again. I think it was 32 shots. A mixture of some really good defending and great saves from the goalkeepers meant we could not find the winner.

"They are a good team, well-coached. They have the luxury of no European football so they can prepare going into each game each week. They work it well. We should win the game today, there is no doubt about that. We just could not find the killer instinct."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Celtic looked, after racing into a two-goal lead, to be delivering the sort of performance that champions do.

Aberdeen, level on points but behind on goal difference, had shown early promise, but the hosts appeared to have flexed their muscles with enough authority to send them on their way to another three points.

The failure to find a crucial third goal left the door slightly ajar and Jimmy Thelin's visitors smashed it down.

That will be of concern for home manager Brendan Rodgers heading back into Champions League action in midweek.

Defensively, the imminent return of Cameron Carter-Vickers might help shut down the sort of chances Aberdeen generated. Celtic can ill-afford to be so exposed against Atalanta.

It is the first dropped points of what has been a dominant domestic start to the campaign, but Aberdeen showed they will be a tough nut to crack as both sides lost their 100% starts to the league season.

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Brendan Rodgers makes one change from the Celtic side that came from behind to defeat Ross County before the international break.

The single change takes place in attack, with Kyogo replacing Adam Idah at centre-forward.

Cameron Carter-Vickers fails in a late fitness bid to make the squad, while Greg Taylor remains out.

Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle, McGregor, Engels, Hatate, Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda.

Substitutes: Sinisalo, Palma, Idah, Yang, McCowan, Bernardo, Forrest, Ralston, Welsh.

Aberdeen: Mitov, Devlin, Rubezic, Molloy, MacKenzie, Shinnie, Heltne Nilsen, Keskinen, Clarkson, McGrath, Nisbet.

Substitutes: Doohan, Duk, Besuijen, Palaversa, Sokler, Morris, Milne, MacDonald, Ambrose.