Something new on Celtic Shorts ahead of kick-off as Celtic get ready to take on Atalanta in the Champions League…
1. At the weekend, Pašalić scored his 50th Serie A goal to become the most prolific Croatian player in the Italian league, ahead of Ivan Perišić (49), Nikola Kalinić (44), Igor Budan (44), Alen Bokšić (34) and Mario Mandžukić (31). “It was unthinkable when I arrived as a young player,” he said.
2. Earlier this month, Gasperini became only the fourth coach to reach 900 career points in Serie A since wins have been valued at three points. Ancelotti, Spalletti and Allegri are the others to achieve this feat.
3. Defenders Hien and Kolašinac are doubts for this afternoon, leaving Atalanta coach Gasperini with some tough selection choices to make.
4. “Atalanta have built a special group and won the Europa League last season. It won’t be an easy task, but we’re ready for it,” Alistair Johnston, Celtic’s right back told Celtic TV.
5. Celtic come to Bergamo after a 2-2 draw against Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. Japanese internationals Kyogo Furuhashi and Hatate were both on target.
6. The Atalanta forward of the moment, though, is Retegui. The Italian international has scored eight goals in as many Serie A games to start the season and also netted in his last two games at international level.
7. Celtic coach Brendan Rodgers on Atalanta’s Lookman, whom he coached at Leicester: “I’m so proud of him and the career that he’s had. He leads his life in the right way – everything is geared towards being the best he can.”
8. According to Corriere dello Sport, Lookman will start in attack alongside Retegui and De Ketelaere. “Let’s score goals,” the Italian paper writes.
9. Atalanta have earned their European driving licence during the last year, suggests Gazzetta dello Sport. They have won nine of their last 16 games in Europe, scoring 28 goals and conceding ten.
10. This is how Gazzetta dello Sport predicts the two sides will line up in Bergamo. The Italian newspaper believes Pašalić could be preferred to Lookman initially for the home side.
11. Brendan Rodgers, Celtic coach: “They’re a good team, very aggressive and very attacking. For us, I think it’s that compactness in the team that is very important. We deserve to be here in this competition and it’s important to instill that belief in the players. My coaching has always been aggressive, and to the day I finish it’ll be aggressive. But I’m also respectful of the fact that when you play against teams of a certain level, you have to really look at their strengths.”
12. Mario Pašalić, Atalanta midfielder: “I never thought [I would reach 50 Serie A goals, as I did on Sunday]. I always try to do what is best for the team. When a milestone comes, it is always nice, especially considering most of the other players on that list are strikers. In football, every match has its own story; you have to be at 100%. Even now, after Celtic, we will immediately turn our attention to the Verona game [in Serie A on Saturday].”
13. Gian Piero Gasperini, Atalanta coach: “Celtic are used to playing to win; they have quick players. We will have to play a great game. They are an attacking team. If you want to win, you have to score goals, and they are a very strong team in Scotland, so it is right that they play attacking football. In the Champions League, you come up against very strong teams. We learned that from our first experiences in the competition, but we never gave up our way of seeing football.”
Taking up the next challenge ⚫🔵⚔️🍀⁰#AtalantaCeltic #UCL #GoAtalantaGo ⚫🔵 pic.twitter.com/RNbXYNsZGn
— Atalanta B.C. (@Atalanta_BC) October 23, 2024
14. Team news coming up, that prediction above looks fairly accurate for the Celtic team. Incidentally the Celtic B lost 2-1 to Atalanta this afternoon, losing the second goal deep into stoppage time.