THE ecstasy and deafening din around Celtic Park following Kyogo Furuhashi’s stunning opening goal against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night lasted all of three minutes. Then, an anxious hush punctured the commotion as Reo Hatate disconsolately slumped to the ground in the middle of the park.
In recent weeks, the midfielder has been back to a level near his brilliant best, and if Celtic were to have any hope of ending the game with a lead intact, logic dictated they would need all their key men on the pitch. Losing Hatate after just seven minutes, would surely be a hammer blow.
But lose him they did. And while they did not ultimately win the match, they didn’t lose it either, putting in a hugely creditable showing to more than earn the point they banked. And a case could certainly be argued they were unfortunate not to claim a famous victory.
While it was a collective effort on the night that made sure the superstars of La Liga left Glasgow knowing they had been in a game, the role of Paulo Bernardo in compensating for the loss of Hatate so early on in proceedings cannot be underestimated.
The Portuguese has been something of a slow burner since arriving at Celtic in the summer, having to bide his time on the bench as he has worked his way towards full fitness. He got his chance on the biggest stage of all, and he grasped it with both hands.
Yes, he may understandably have been lacking a little in match sharpness, but that made the effort and energy he expended in pressing and pestering the Atletico midfield all the more remarkable. The fact that Hatate’s potential layoff isn’t being discussed too prominently in the aftermath of the match as the disaster it appeared to be at the time, is testament to his performance.
Callum McGregor had a closer view of Bernardo’s showing than anyone else, and the Celtic captain was more than impressed by what he saw.
"He shows his discipline,” McGregor said.
“He's looked after himself, to come in and be game-ready as well. It's different when you're training. He came in and was at that level throughout the game.
“He ran his socks off, showed really good moments of quality and fitted into the team really seamlessly. He can be happy with his night. It shows you the strength we've got in the squad.
"He's technical, as you would imagine, coming from abroad. He wants to be on the ball, he wants to make things happen. You can see that from the little glimpses he had [on Wednesday].
“And listen, he's not shy in working hard, and I think in our team - and in modern-day football - you have to be able to run, and press, and do the other side of the game as well. It was a really positive show.”
The Celtic bench is undoubtedly lacking in real strength in depth in some areas, as evidenced when manager Brendan Rodgers looked to freshen up his attacking threats late in the game on Wednesday night.
But in the midfield, the emergence of Bernardo has soothed concerns over what might happen if any of the holy trinity of McGregor, Hatate and Matt O’Riley are to be absent for any length of time.
"That's what we want, we want really good players in each position,” McGregor added.
“We need that seamless transition. With the amount of games we play, we chop and change. Obviously the idea will stay the same, but we want the quality and intensity to stay the same.”
It will have to if Celtic are to get anything from their remaining Champions League fixtures and give themselves a fighting chance of European football after Christmas. Or even – as unlikely as it sounds given that they are currently bottom of their section – reach McGregor’s goal of progressing to the last 16 of the Champions League.
You get the sense from the Celtic skipper that such a target isn’t only being set as a soundbite, but comes after a careful assessment of the level his team are now reaching, and what they are up against.
"We've played everyone now and we know what the level is like,” he said.
“That will give us a reference point for when we are trying to prep for the next games as well.
“I don't think there's anything to suggest that we should fear going anywhere. We've got two tough away games but, the games against Atletico and Lazio, we've been really good value in terms of our performance and probably should have more points from those two games.
“The next two games are vital in terms of trying to get out of the group, but we go there with confidence and try to give everything we've got.
“Can we change that mentality? Can we change that switch? Because ultimately, we want to get out of the group. If we can do that, it will be a brilliant achievement.”
There are domestic matters for Celtic to turn their attention to first though, starting today as they travel to Edinburgh for the second time this week.
It is a quick turnaround, but McGregor says the players are used to the challenge of lifting themselves out of the lull following the high emotion of a midweek Champions League fixture.
"We put a lot of energy into the game against Atletico,” he said.
“Big emotion, the stadium, all these things, so you've just got to recover. The [two days after the game, we did] barely anything - we prep the game against Hibs, get through to Edinburgh and get our feet up, and the mental challenge is can we go again?
“We have to go there and win, because if you want nights like Atletico, you have win the league. That's the bread and butter for this group and we'll be ready.
"It is [difficult], but it's part of the job - you've got to do it, if you want to win things you've got to switch your mentality on.
“When you play well in this type of game [against Atletico], it gives you a good feeling, you want to get back on the pitch as quickly as you can.
“Hopefully the boys will be feeling like that. We have to get ready regardless.”
