IT is not at all unusual for the fallout to games at Parkhead to, due to widespread unhappiness at a disallowed goal, a penalty decision or a red card offence, to rumble on for days, weeks even.
But has a match at the famous old Glasgow ground ever been bedevilled by so much controversy for so long before it has kicked off as the one which was played between Celtic and Atletico Madrid last night?
This Champions League encounter between the Scottish champions and their Spanish rivals was expected to be incendiary both on and off the park for a variety of different reasons.
The increasing friction between the host club’s board and the Green Brigade over the ultra group’s off-field behaviour this term – not least the pro-Palestinian banners they flew on the day that Hamas massacred over 1,000 innocent civilians in attacks on Israel earlier this month – promised to boil over into ugly scenes.
The staggering decision by the visitors to wear an all-red retro strip which commemorated their 1974 European Cup semi-final win over their adversaries – after an infamous first leg which saw no fewer than three Atletico players red carded – stoked up pre-match tensions somewhat too.
There were, despite appeals for fans to not make political gestures beforehand, hundreds of Palestinian flags held up before the kick off. And the occupants of the safe-standing section all wore red, black, white and green ponchos to show their solidarity with the inhabitants of the besieged Middle East nation. Another UEFA fine is sure to be forthcoming.
This, though, proved to be an evening when football was king and Celtic were the stars. It will live long in the memory of those fortunate enough to be present and those watching at home not because of any unfortunate antics in the stands or ill-discipline on the field of play. No, it will be remembered as the night that manager Brendan Rodgers and his charges came of age at the highest level in Europe.
Celtic went in to their third Group E outing in bottom spot in the section after being beaten by Feyenoord away in Rotterdam last month and Lazio on their own turf earlier this month. However, Callum McGregor and his team mates had made definite progress in their previous two outings and had been desperately unfortunate to concede in the fifth minute of injury-time three weeks earlier.
Getting the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Reo Hatate, arguably their two most consistent performers during their treble-winning season, back to full fitness has helped their cause no end. The improvement shown by the likes of Liam Scales, Luis Palma, Matt O’Riley and Kyogo Furuhashi in defence, midfield and attack, too, has been tangible.
They were more than a match for the side which is three points off leaders Real Madrid in La Liga with a game in hand just now. Hatate limping off injured early on was the last thing they needed. But Paulo Bernardo slotted in seamlessly.
But it is perhaps Rodgers himself who has matured the most during this campaign. The Northern Irishman was naïve at times when his team faced top class continental foes during his first spell in the East End of Glasgow and his foolhardy idealism led to some heavy and humiliating defeats. He has clearly grown and learned lessons from those outings.
He was, in stark contrast to his opposite number Diego Simeone, coolness personified from kick-off to the final whistle and masterminded an impressive display. His defence contained Alvaro Morata and Antoine Griezmann well in the main and created just as many chances in the final third as Atletico. Furuhashi and Palma converted two of them. But they could easily have netted many more.
Rodgers switched from a 4-3-3 formation to a 3-5-2 formation in the second half after Morata had levelled when he put on Nat Phillips for Palma. The Liverpool loanee slotted in alongside Carter-Vickers and Scales effortlessly and Celtic continued to function cohesively as a unit. Would the man in the dugout have had the nerve and nous to try that years ago? It is doubtful.
That Champions League group stage triumph their fans long for may continue to elude them. It is still 10 long years since they last picked up three points in this competition at home and seven years since they did so away. Still, this was a laudable result against genuinely world-class footballers. Reaching the knockout rounds of this tournament or the Europa League are very much attainable objectives on this evidence.
“The team pressed the game well and passed it well for a lot of the game. There’s a bit of tiredness that comes in the last 20 minutes because we’re not used to playing at that tempo against that level of opponent. A bit of fatigue kicks in.
“But it’s the performance that gives you confidence at this level. And that was a really big performance. We just couldn’t quite get the result or the win we wanted.”
“The football against Atletico was great. Both goals were very, very good. The players will take confidence from that. They are just going to get better and better at this level.
“You come into a game like this and you have to believe and you have to learn. The important thing was to get a result as well as a performance. I am really pleased with the performance.
“I am pleased with the result because we needed to get some points on the board. We wanted all three, but if you can’t win the game then certainly don’t lose it.
“I didn’t think we looked like losing the game, they didn’t have so many chances in the game despite the real quality they have. I can see development for sure.
“I am only focused on ourselves. We have three more games to go. I think we showed that we can perform in the games. We go into the next three looking to get as many points as we possibly can and see where it takes us.”
