Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has offered praise to Celtic for their pressing abilities in the Champions League, despite the Scottish side’s early exit from the competition.
His remarks come in the wake of Celtic’s 2-0 defeat to Lazio in Rome, which dashed Brendan Rodgers’ aspirations of extending their European campaign beyond Christmas.
Celtic, under Rodgers, have faced a challenging group stage in the Champions League, managing just one point from five games. However, their performance against Atletico Madrid in Glasgow, which ended in a 2-2 draw, earned them Simeone’s respect.
The Argentine tactician specifically praised Celtic for being the best pressing team Atletico encountered in their group, highlighting the quality of their play at Celtic Park.
Simeone’s assessment is noteworthy, considering the stature of the teams involved in the Champions League. His comments suggest that despite the stark results, including a 6-0 defeat in Madrid, Celtic demonstrated commendable tactical aspects in their approach.
“The opponent that pressed us best were Celtic at their ground,” quoted by RecordSport.
“Feyenoord is a team that tries to press, although they immediately retreated because they saw that they could not gain a foothold due to the good circulation that the team has.
“There was Witsel, Gimenez, Mario… also Rodrigo and Koke to generate a block of play. The team needed this and we try to support them.”
The praise from a coach of Simeone’s calibre is a testament to the potential and capability within the Celtic squad.
The games, particularly at home, were lost and drawn by fine margins, and Celtic showed that they did belong at the Champions League level with their performances.
