Celtic pull through the turkey shot: 0-0 draw in Bergamo
Pašalić denied by the crossbar
The third game of our 2024/25 UEFA Champions League campaign against Celtic ended in a goalless draw at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo, despite the Nerazzurri being on full attack mode, hitting the crossbar and creating plenty of chances. Keeping a clean sheet once again, Atalanta climb up to 5 points after three UCL games.
On 13 minutes Éderson rolled the ball across for Retegui, who couldn't find the target in full stretch. Merely 60 seconds went by and the Nerazzurri had another chance following a classy give-and-go between Retegui and Lookman, with the latter loosening a shot from the edge of the box, eventually blocked by Schmeichel. The hosts neared the lead in the 18th minute with Pašalić who, after showcasing all his aerial prowess by smacking the crossbar with a thunderous header, picked up the rebound but finished just too high. On 24 minutes, while Carnesecchi had his work cut out for him to deflect Engels' curler, Pašalić almost broke the deadlock once again but had his forward run halted by a well-alert Schmeichel. Two minutes later it was Zappacosta who, in an attempt to capitalize on Retegui's cross, burst into the box with the right timing before his shot ended up just too high. As the black-and-blue forcing raged on, Atalanta sought their way to the goal with headed attempts from Pašalić (high off target) and then Djimsiti (blocked). Closing the first half on the offensive, the Nerazzurri threatened with Retegui from the corner kick, with his header parried by Schmeichel.
The second half started with the Scottish outfit's defence blocking a few attempts from the Nerazzurri and a good Carnesecchi save on Valle's deflected shot. Captain Marten de Roon had his go 58 minutes in, but was met by Schmeichel's opposition. In the 67th minute, De Ketelaere got away from his defenders but Schmeichel managed to smother his angled drive and minutes later, Zappacosta blazed a shot from the edge of the box that skimmed the post. Celtic threatened through Furuhashi, whose lob ended over the bar. The final chance of the game saw Hien head over in the 93rd minute. The goalless draw at the Gewiss Stadium sees the Nerazzurri move up to 5 points in the standings.
ATALANTA 0-0 CELTIC
Atalanta: Carnesecchi, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolašinac (Ruggeri 78), Bellanova (Samardžić 59), De Roon, Éderson, Zappacosta, Pašalić (Zaniolo 78), Retegui (De Ketelaere 59), Lookman (Cuadrado 69). Unused bench: Rui Patrício, Rossi, Godfrey, Palestra, Manzoni, Vlahović, Del Lungo. Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini.
Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Valle, Engels (McCowan 75), Mcgregor, Hatate (Paulo Bernardo 68), Kuhn (Forrest 81), Idah (Furuhashi 68), Maeda (Palma 75). Unused bench: Sinisalo, Bain, HJ Yang, Nawrocki, Ralston, Welsh. Coach: Brendan Rodgers.
Referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH);
Assistant referees: Senad Ibrišimbegović (BIH) and Davor Beljo (BIH);
Fourth official: Antoni Bandić (BIH);
V.A.R.: Sören Storks (GER);
A.V.A.R.: Christian Dingert (GER).
Notes: Johnston (C) booked.