It was almost pitch-perfect but not quite.

It's all about the learning, development and progression of Celtic at the Champions League level. That includes the manager and the players. There was a lot of navel gazing after the Matchday Two 7-1 drubbing of the Scottish champions by Borussia Dortmund.

Brendan Rodgers vowed that his men would learn. Celtic captain Callum McGregor issued an immediate apology to supporters and promised the squad would atone.

The heads were bowed in stunned silence when Celtic left the field in the Signal Iduna Park in Germany. Those same heads were held high as Celtic defied the odds to snuff out last season's Europa League winners to draw 0-0 with Atalanta on Italian soil. It was as good a result as Rodgers has had in his Celtic managerial career at Champions League level. A yield of four points from three matches is not to be sniffed at either. Rodgers said: "I just think it was more about just being concentrated.

"I think in Dortmund, believe it or not, we had the same idea but when you lose the goal so quickly, you can then end up getting frazzled, and they have that quality, then everything, the distances become much greater. If the press isn't quite right, the gaps start to open up, then it becomes a little bit more open than what you would like.

"Our game is all based on connection. When we haven't got the ball, and when we have got the ball, lots of connections. Defensively, we have to be clear in our thinking, and that was the great learning from Dortmund, is that you know, if you concede, okay, it can happen at the level, but don't lose your concentration and don't lose your commitment in what you're doing.

"If you go on your own, top teams will pick you off. That was why I expected it because the group is such an honest group, the group want to learn, but then to take it to that level and perform like they did against Atalanta and be very well organised and compact, it's a huge testament to them and their courage. Because like I said, you have that Dortmund game, you're now going away to an opponent equally as dangerous, if not more. And to produce that level was great for the players. So, it shows you that they want to learn.

"I think if people said to you, you've got a home game against Bratislava and then away Borussia Dortmund and away to Atalanta to have four points out of that. You would be very, very pleased."

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Rodgers knows his levels. He's spent the best part of his 25 years as a coach managing at an elite level.He was quick to remind everybody that the Scottish Premiership is not the English Premier League in terms of quality which makes Celtic's stalemate against Atalanta all the more remarkable when the Scottish champions are not facing a similar level of opposition every week as their counterparts down south.

The jump from playing top flight in Scotland to the Champions League is so massive that it borders on a quantum leap. The 51-year-old said: "I think that we're a team that normally, obviously domestically and a lot of times we play, and especially at home, we'll want to take the game by the scruff of the neck and impose our way of working in the game.

"You know when you come up against superior teams away from home and that you're going to have to be in difficult situations where you're not going to have the running of the game and in that there, you need a high level of concentration. That was probably the biggest part that pleased me. The concentration levels that we showed right to the very end against a team from a superior league and a top, top team. We showed that we could defend well and be compact and tight and all the things that we spoke about before.

"We showed a great physicality in the game as well to match their physicality and right to the very end, right to the 94th minute. So, there were so many pleasing things. I think that it's great, it was a game where the players can take huge confidence, knowing that we can play some brilliant football, some fast football, score many goals, but to keep a clean sheet and play how we did out there, not only does it galvanise the players and their confidence and when those moments come, because they'll come again, especially in the Champions League.

"It will happen in the league sometimes as well, but certainly in the Champions League, you're going to have to go through spells like that. We now know that we can do that. It's also great for the supporters. You know, the supporters, as much as the football is great and intense and everything and blah, blah, blah, they also need to know that your team can have a bit of dig, a bit of grit and determination and I think we've seen that the other night against a top team.

"You're going to be judged at the end. You have to understand that for the Scottish teams as well, sometimes it takes a little bit of time to go into as well. I think for the likes of ourselves, we jump from our domestic league, which is a fantastic league, into the Champions League, which is the very highest level. So, that jump is huge. With the greatest respect, we're not playing that every week. It's not like a Premier League team that has that, where you're playing it every week and you get that level and speed and intensity in the game.

"Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to then adjust to it but I think all you can do is look after your own club and be the very best that you can be. Where we sit after the three games, I'm more than happy with and know that we'll improve as we go along."

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The next step for Rodgers and his team would be turning the 0-0 draw into a win. That's when the Irishman will know for certain that a watershed moment in Europe has been reached and that his men are making significant progress on the greatest stage in club football. Rodgers said: "I think it's having that wee bit of composure at the level as well.

"These are games where you have to have that belief to play as well. We had a couple of wee moments, didn't we, going into that last period, where it looked like it could be the absolute perfect performance. We defended well and then on the counter-attack, you get your goals. It didn't quite just drop for us, but that is the next stage. A game against Atalanta looks totally different to some other games. If you look at the number of times in the first half, we made a through pass and sequence, then all of a sudden, we were through on their goal. That doesn't happen a lot in football.

"Normally, you've got to go through various zones and lots of bodies behind the ball but against their man-to-man marking system, once you broke through it two or three times, you were in.

"So, it's just having that, making maybe some more of the right decisions in those moments, can definitely help us, for sure. I was really pleased with what I saw in the game, in terms of the concentration mentality and I know that confidence will always grow with the ball the more opportunities you're in that tournament, and you get the experience of it. It was a very good performance. I was so happy for the supporters because I'm sure after the Dortmund game, there was a wee bit of trepidation.

"You're playing against a top team who, across Europe, were on the top goalscorers in all the top leagues. They're going to have real pride in the team, and that's what I'm saying. Not just for us as a coaching and managing staff, the players themselves, but for the supporters. They know that this team can now do that. There is a graft there, there is a heart, there is a desire and an organisation that can help us going forward.

"That was my primary objective when I said when I came back, clearly domestically we have to do our work, but can we build something in Europe that can allow us to progress and be better?

Celtic head to Fir Park to take on Motherwell on Sunday in the latest instalment of the Scottish Premiership 2044/25 campaign. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Greg Taylor both trained with the squad but decisions will be made on their availability before kick-off. It took late goals by Matt O'Riley and Adam Idah to help settle the issues during both encounters against Motherwell at Fir Park last season.

Rodgers said: "I think it's always been a tough place to go. I always really enjoy going there. It's always a really good atmosphere. We bring great support behind the goals. So, yes, they're always tough games. Stuart (Kettlewell) has his team set up well. They go between, obviously a back five and then whether they play two strikers up front and three midfield or a sort of 3-4-3 structure. It can just depend. The last few weeks, it's been more of a 5-3-2.

"So, we'll expect a team that will be well organised. Stuart organises his teams very, very well, very organised, very committed. They'll be disappointed with the last result. So, they want to bounce back from that. For us, we know what we need after a Champions League game and that is to bring a big energy, as well as a big attitude and continue with a great start to the season.

"If you can only predict and forecast, it would be great. Everyone would love to be comfortable in the game, but sometimes it's not like that. So, teams will give everything to get the result. What hopefully that tells you is that this is a team with perseverance and persistence who can keep going. So, ultimately, you have to do what it takes to get the result. We always have that mentality that we can.

"Scoring a late winner away from home is always really nice and it's great for the supporters, but of course, whichever way it comes, you just want to win."

Rodgers and Celtic reclaimed their pride back on the European stage with their version of the Italian Job against Atalanta in the Gewiss Stadium on Wednesday night. Can Rodgers make Celtic successful and better in Europe? We will find out soon enough.

Next up is a fixture against a team who bill themselves as the 'Pride of Lanarkshire'. The football levels will be adjusted once again but the primary objective always remains the same - to win.