Soccer Football - Champions League - Atalanta v Celtic - Gewiss Stadium, Bergamo, Italy - October 23, 2024 Celtic's Liam Scales in action with Atalanta's Lazar Samardzic REUTERS/Daniele Mascolo
BERGAMO, Italy (Reuters) -Atalanta spurned several chances as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by a defensively resilient Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Atalanta's first European match against a Scottish side was a largely one-sided encounter as the hosts had 23 total attempts with seven on target.
Celtic, coming off a 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the previous round of matches, adopted a defensive approach from the outset and, with a mix of luck and discipline, managed to contain Atalanta.
The draw left both Atalanta and Celtic in the playoff positions in the standings, with Atalanta in 12th place with five points and Celtic in 18th with four points after three rounds.
The hosts dominated the first half, with Mario Pasalic nearly scoring with a header that hit the crossbar, while Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel made several crucial saves to keep them at bay.
Atalanta continued to control the game after the break, but became frustrated as time wore on and were unable to convert their dominance into three points.
"To come here and get a point is a good point," Schmeichel told TNT Sports. "We took a more practical approach in this one, took less chances in our build-up due to their man-to-man system."
(Reporting by Tommy Lund in GdanskEditing by Toby Davis)
