Celtic held by 10 man Atletico Madrid in Champions League thriller

KYO-GOAL: Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates. Photo credit: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

Celtic 2 Atletico Madrid 2

A Champions League home victory continues to elude Celtic but it was ten-man Atletico Madrid who were more relieved to hear the final whistle as Brendan Rodgers' side claimed their first point of their Group E campaign.

Twice Celtic took the lead in a thrilling game, first through Kyogo Furihashi and then through Luis Palma but they were pegged back by Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata.

The 82nd minute dismissal of Rodrigo De Paul for a second yellow card revived hopes they could secure three points at Celtic Park in the competition for the first time in ten years but Rodgers’ men were unable to make more of the numerical advantage.

Rodgers was in no doubt about the scale of the task confronting his side as they attempted to end that unwanted run against a side that has been regular trophy winners during Simeone’s 12 years at the helm.

Celtic could draw hope from Atletico’s recent troubles on the road in the Champions League with the La Liga side having lost four and drawn one of their last five away games in the competition. More pertinently, though, was the Madrid club’s recent run of form that meant they arrived at Celtic Park on the back of a run of six wins in all competitions.

Unsurprisingly Rodgers named an unchanged team for the third successive game and the Celtic manager’s belief that his side could secure a positive result was strengthened by the positive elements of their two previous performances in the competition this season.

There were promising signs in the defeat at Feyenoord while the meeting with Lazio ended in disappointment when a mistake by Cameron Carter-Vickers gifted the Italians the chance to snatch a late winning goal.

If the home side were to claim their first points of the campaign, they knew they would have to do more, however, in a meeting that was given additional significance by the looming 50 year anniversary of the infamous meeting between the two teams in the semi-finals of the 1973/74 European Cup.

The Spanish club, who marked the occasion by wearing a kit of red shirts and blue shorts with the club’s old badge to commemorate that visit, managed to secure a scoreless draw in a brutal encounter despite being reduced to eight men before winning the return to reach the final for the first time.

For Rodgers’ side, the priority was to kick-start their current campaign and they wasted no time in imposing themselves on their Spanish opponents, forcing the lead inside four minutes after a move that summed up their first half display.

Furuhashi and Matt O’Riley combined excellently on the right with O’Riley teeing up his team-mate with an incisive pass into the path of the Japan international who placed a calm finish past Jan Oblak, the Atletico goalkeeper.

There was an urgency and determination to Celtic’s play although it was inevitable the Spanish side would soon assert themselves. A sharpshot by Griezmann served notice of their threat and the France international followed was presented with another chance to level in the 23rd minute when Nahuel Molina went to ground after being clipped by Greg Taylor to win a penalty.

Joe Hart pushed Griezmann’s effort onto the post but the striker slotted home at the second attempt.

It was to Celtic’s credit that they responded quickly and they were back level five minutes after another excellent finish, this time from Palma, who dtilled a powerful angled shot beyond Oblak.

O’Riley brought the Atletico keeper into action with another well struck effort and Celtic reached the break deserving of their lead.

Simeone agreed and made a double substitution and his side responded by making a more positive start to the second half, drawing level for a second time nine minutes after the restart.

This time it was Morata’s turn to produce an eye-catching finish with the former Chelsea forward coming in at the far post to meet Marcos Llorente’s cross with a diving header.

Celtic (4-3-3): Hart 6; Johnston 7, Carter-Vickers 6, Scales 7, Taylor 6; O’Riley 7, McGregor 7, Hatate 6 (Bernardo 7, 6); Maeda 8, Furuhashi 8 (Forrest 80, 6), Palma 7 (Phillips 62, 6).

Subs not used: Bain, Lagerbielke, Morrison, Ralston, Turnbull, Iwata, Oh, Yang, Johnston.

Atletico Madrid (3-5-2): Oblak 6; Savic 6, Witsel 6, Hermoso 6; Molina 7, Koke 6, Saul 5 (Riquelme 46, 7), De Paul 6, Galan 5 (Llorente 46, 8); Griezmann 6, Morata 7 (Correa 73, 6).

Subs not used: Grbic, Gomis, Azpilicueta, Soyuncu, Barrios,.

Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany) 6