Atalanta's Mario Pasalic makes superb claim about one Celtic player

It would be safe to say that Atalanta were the favourites when they faced Celtic in Bergamo, Italy. The home side had the better chances but at full-time, they could not be separated as the game ended in a goalless draw. It was clearly the better result for the Hoops, who now have four points from their first three Champions League games in the first phase of the new-look competition.

A lot of eyebrows were raised when Celtic signed Kasper Schmeichel in the summer to take Joe Hart's place between the posts. Most had been hoping for a long-term replacement to be brought in for the retiring Englishman and at one point, players like Caoimhin Kelleher and Andriy Lunin had been linked with a move to Parkhead.

Naturally, many were disappointed at the time. But Schmeichel has proven to be an excellent signing, and he was on song as Celtic earned themselves a draw in Italy.

So much so that Mario Pasalic singled him out after the game. As reported by the Glasgow Times, the Atalanta player said:

"We had several chances but we came up against Kasper Schmeichel and unfortunately, we couldn't break his resistance."

Atalanta's Mario Pasalic makes superb claim about one Celtic player

Of course, Schmeichel was superb on the night. But the backline deserves plenty of credit for their performance against Atalanta as well.

The Celtic defence has faced a lot of criticism in recent weeks, but they were solid in Bergamo, and did not let the absence of Cameron Carter-Vickers have a negative effect. Hopefully, it will give them some much-needed confidence moving forward.

Admittedly, a lot was down to how the team were set up as well. The focus was clearly on keeping Atalanta at bay, a needed adjustment after conceding seven goals in their previous outing in the Champions League, against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Celtic had looked naive on that occasion and were significantly better in Italy.