Celtic’s upcoming Champions League Group Stage opponents Atalanta made an emphatic statement across
Atalanta’s Weekend Warning to Celtic FC
Celtic’s upcoming Champions League Group Stage opponents Atalanta made an emphatic statement across the continent by beating their rivals in the Serie A match today. The Italian team wreaked havoc on Genoa, thanks to Mateo Retegui – the shape-shifting forward who starred with a hat trick and provided an assist for his team too.
This destructive display made sure that Retegui has finally reached his seventh goal in as many league matches this season and the kind of scoring form Celtic will have to deal with.
In truth, Atalanta has grown more dangerous in the last few weeks, winning their last two league matches under Gian Piero Gasperini. Even though this will come as some comfort for Celtic fans who watched them crash to a heavy loss at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in the previous round of the Champions League.
Atalanta looked every bit as dangerous in their attack, as the Scottish Champions were taken apart in Germany, and a similar threat looms if Celtic are not able to change the way they play.
Celtic seem to have come under a gauntlet of goals, and given Celtic’s abysmal performance in Germany, the question that will be asked is whether Brendan Rodgers is tactically adept to devise a strategy that will counter the Italians.
They will need to stay very organized because Celtic cannot afford to have the kind of defensive lapses they had in their last Champions League game. The battle of the midfield will also be important, as the Hoops will have to find a strategy to cut off the flow of Atalanta and stop their offense from scoring at will, like in the last match.
It will not be easy, especially since their preparations will have to be done under the tight noose of knowing that another shellacking would invite even more criticism from those who demand competitiveness from Celtic.
