ZAGREB, CROATIA - DECEMBER 10: Arne Engels of Celtic in action against Lukas Kacavenda of Dinamo Zagreb during UEFA Champions League League Phase MD6 match between Dinamo Zagreb and Celtic at Stadion Maksimir on December 10, 2024 in Zagreb, Croatia. (Photo by Sanjin Strukic/Pixsell/MB Media/Getty Images)
That was a strange one.
On the surface, it’s a reasonable result—we’ve taken another point from this Champions League group. We’re now sitting on nine points, with a chance to make it twelve if we get our act together at home against Young Boys. That game is now a must-win, and we’re in a realistic qualification spot. Still, we’ve made things harder for ourselves in trying to secure one of the top places.
We didn’t create enough tonight going forward. The disconnect between our midfield and the attacking players was obvious. Zagreb also knew how to play against us, as they highlighted before the match, and they defended resolutely.
That approach, however, blunted their opportunities to come forward and trouble us. In many ways, they played like an SPFL side hoping to catch us on the break. Those who highlighted the chances we conceded against Hibs were worrying for nothing or they were praying in vain. We were solid.
Between the two teams, we should undoubtedly be the happier after this result. We have Young Boys at home and Aston Villa still to come, while they face far tougher fixtures. They needed to win tonight, and to be honest, they didn’t trouble us much.
That’s a positive takeaway. Immense credit must go to this team—it was one of the most disciplined performances I’ve seen in a long time. We allowed them very few chances, controlled the middle of the park, and were defensively sound.
There’s a maturity developing in this side. Players are improving, gaining experience at this level, and learning what is possible for them. Tomorrow, I plan to write a different piece on this subject, but for now, I’ll say this: some of these players are still finding their feet. Don’t forget, this team is still in its early stages of development, with several relatively new arrivals. Overall, we should be satisfied with how they’re progressing.
The bright sparks tonight for me were Engels, who was excellent when he came on, and Paulo Bernardo, who was outstanding until he went off. I know the manager probably won’t play both at Hampden, but he should. Along with McGregor, that’s our best central midfield. I have little doubt that the Ibrox club would be run ragged by them.
It was interesting, too, to see the change in the approach the minute Idah was on. Kyogo hovered around the last man, waiting for the moment to strike. Idah came deeper, collected the ball, looked to open up space for others. Whatever Hart thinks, it was not a “like for like” change. Far from it. The two offer us two different styles. It’s something to ponder.
We’re on nine points, and nine might just be enough. By tomorrow night, we’ll know whether that’s the case, as the picture becomes clearer. Ten points will almost certainly secure progress, but we should aim for twelve minimum. That means getting the result we need at Celtic Park.
Taking something from the Villa match would be a bonus, and with the way we’re defending and setting up, I think it’s more than possible.
One note of concern tonight was AJ’s substitution at halftime.
He took a knock in the first half but finished it. Perhaps it was precautionary—Brendan will likely clarify soon. Thankfully, we have a clear calendar until Sunday, giving anyone feeling the effects of tonight’s game time to recover.
All in all, I think we can be satisfied, not only with the point but with certain aspects of the performance. Too often in these games, we make silly mistakes—pushing too far forward, leaving ourselves open at the back, and giving the opposition chances to exploit us.
This was not a gung-ho Rodgers performance.
The difference between this Rodgers and the one from his first spell is night and day. For those who decried the open nature of the game in Dortmund, how can you complain about tonight? This was a more defensive, solid display. Isn’t that what you wanted?
Defensive solidity comes with compromises, but those compromises are the price we have to pay. Tonight marked a second consecutive shutout on the road, creating an interesting scenario for us.
Let’s not forget, we’ll have to navigate Champions League qualifiers next season. That two-legged affair will likely see us facing a physically strong, aggressive side, probably from Eastern Europe—much like tonight’s opponent.
Watching this game, I feel confident about our chances in such a situation. We didn’t look like conceding tonight, even in a match where the home side needed a win to keep their hopes alive.
There are clear signs of progress and evolution in how we play. We’re looking better equipped for continental football than we have in a long time.
That’s why I won’t shed any tears after this result or performance. Is it frustrating? A little. But I’m far from angry or despondent. I found it intriguing and I see a lot to be pleased with.
Now we know what we have to do at home against the Swiss: win. Nothing less than three points to take us to twelve with one match to go.
Poor result, 2 points dropped
I can’t believe the amount of people who think a point against a rank rotten team is a good result. Have our expectations really fallen so far? Of course we should be dominating the game and possession, why? because they are pish. Had their finishing been better we would have lost that game. We got a dream set of fixtures and we are currently in 20th place, qualifying in the bottom half of the PO spots shouldn’t be what we are happy with.
That would be a rank rotten team with 8 points? Yes they got spanked by a German team (it happens) but winning games in UCL is never easy. We never looked in danger but were not at our best in the final third. This team has got us into a great position after six games and I don’t buy the “easy fixtures” line. Drawn away to Villa arguably the toughest pot 4 team. Away to Dortmund last season’s finalists. Away to Atalanta last season’s Europa League winners. Leipzig – yes they haven’t performed but a top German team. And we all saw how good Club Brugge were at CP.
We are in a good place – now we park it and focus on domestic matters till mid January.
Good result,a point gained.
6 games and 1 defeat,that’s excellent.
Hatate had his worst game in a Celtic jersey,
should have been subbed much earlier,
I agree Hatate and Maeda (again) was poor.
Hatate seemed to be coming into the game before being subbed.
Bringing on Kyogo when they were tiring instead of Idah is a good point.
Happy with the point.
After Timor will be clearer what 9 points means in terms of qualification (taking account of who plays who in last two games).
Per my earlier post I do wonder whether playing Idah for 60 minutes to soften up the defence and then unleashing Kyogo would pay dividends – his pace and intelligence against tired defenders (reckon he would have got in front of the defender who made the block on Idah in the dying minutes)
A pragmatic performance gains a point.
I’ll take the point tonight…
The league is starting to ‘normalise’ a wee tad now and most of the cream are finding their way to the top…
Three points v Young Boys at Parkhead should see a play off place –
Hopefully Aston Villa will have qualified by that point for The Last Sixteen and might rest players for Premier League duties…
But they’ll still wanna give out a doing to a team from ‘Jockland’ !
Take a point all day long, but they weren’t a quality team, dropped 2 points.
6 corners and 2 free kicks outside their box and absolutely nothing to show for it , something needs to be done so we don’t waste these opportunities continuously.
As JT above says it was a pragmatic performance. Nobody was particularly brilliant but we were never in danger. Zagreb have been woeful domestically but have shown themselves to be competent in this competition so deserved the respect of a conservative approach, however it became clear very quickly that they were going to sit back & look for the counter & even then there counters were half assed.
I wonder if our players perhaps had an eye on Sunday. None seemed as explosive as previous games, they put more effort in tracking back when possession was lost over bombing forward. Of course the quality of the pitch may have been a factor in this but it seemed both teams were happy with the draw for the majority of the game. We needed someone in the team to recognise they were there for the taking & amping up the levels.
The biggest stumbling block was AJ coming off. Ralston is the worst player in this squad. It is noticeable he all but kills our ability to attack down the right side. For most of the second half you can see CalMac having to direct his movements & positions. He never strays far from CCV either. He keeps between 2-3m almost permanently. It is a must fill position for us in January. We have a top top RB in AJ but to have nothing behind him scuppers us any time he takes a knock. I’d be tempted to play Forrest or Hatate there before Ralston again.
Before the game I’d have been delighted with a point. After watching how the game played out, it does feel like 2 points squandered.
WWe can’t be as passive on Sunday as we are going to face much the same type of game.
It’s a point gained even though we were poor. I agree Engels looked good when he came on but we should’ve taken off Taylor and Maeda long before Hatate and McCowan. Poor down the left then losing AJ hurt us down the right. Lots of pressure on the Young Boys game now. We’re in a good place overall, hopefully we’re saving the champagne football for Sunday because we haven’t seen it in the last couple of games (I’m spoiled, I know, but Celtic have set high standards this season)