Celtic gained their first point of the Champions League group stage, drawing 2-2 with Atletico Madrid in a memorable encounter in Glasgow.
Kyogo Furuhashi scored his second European goal in as many games, as he profited off of an exquisite pass from Matt O’Riley, chipping the ball over a hapless Jan Oblak in the Madrid goal. The visitors would rally and were awarded a penalty when Greg Taylor clipped Nahuel Molina in the box. French superstar Antoine Griezmann stepped up and saw his penalty saved onto the post by Joe Hart, but the shot rebounded back to him, and he made no mistake the second time.
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Atletico were only level for a short period of time, however, as Luis Palma made no mistake this time in Europe, firing home a thunderous strike following a great pick-out by Daizen Maeda. Celtic went in at the break ahead, with the crowd contributing to what was shaping up to be a special night in Glasgow’s East End. Diego Simeone made changes at half-time, and his side got back on level terms again quickly following the restart through the head of Alvaro Morata.
Celtic had to ride their luck following this, but their pressure was eased towards the end when Rodrigo De Paul was sent off for a second bookable offence. Brendan Rodgers’ side pushed for a late winner but had to settle for a point against top-quality opposition.
Celtic named the same starting 11 for the third game running, as Liam Scales continued in the defence alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers. It was an unchanged midfield of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and O’Riley, whilst Maeda and Palma supported Kyogo, who once again led the line for the Scottish champions.
Here, The Celtic Way rounds up the best StatsBomb data to give you a match report like no other…
xG trendline
In what is becoming a welcoming pattern recently, Celtic started this game with speed and purpose, causing problems for the visitor’s defence. Following a shot from Molina for the visitors that completely missed the target (0.02 xG), Celtic found themselves ahead early in a game once again…
This budding partnership between O’Riley and Kyogo is becoming extremely formidable, in all competitions. Kyogo was positioned on the wing and passed the ball to his midfielder who was positioned centrally. Almost instantly, O’Riley played a cushioned pass to the striker, who was now one-on-one with Oblak in the opposition box. Regardless of the quality of the keeper, he was calm and composed, lifting the ball over the Slovenian into the back of his net. A good chance with an xG of 0.30, the PSxG rose significantly to 0.83 following the strike leaving Kyogo’s boot. The Japan striker is at the top of his game, now a consistent scorer in the Champions League. That contract renewal is looking more and more astute with each passing game.
The goal was mixed with a tinge of sadness, as Celtic’s Hatate was down injured on the other end of the park. He would be substituted for Paulo Bernardo and left the pitch in tears, a massive blow both personally and collectively given his recent form. This was a big opportunity for his replacement, however, as he would have over 80 minutes to show why he deserves more game-time in his injured teammate’s absence.
Celtic would be clinical when it mattered in this match, though they had to deal with a barrage of chances from the visitors. Indeed, the home side would have no opportunities from their opening goal to Palma’s second, as Saul Niguez and Griezmann would both threaten (0.09 xG). Molina would then make his way into the box, being clipped by Taylor from behind, in what was a difficult night defensively for the left-back. Griezmann would take the spot-kick, which was saved by Hart (0.78 xG), before hitting the post and falling to the same man, who made no mistake putting his second chance beyond the goalkeeper (0.59 xG).
Madrid would only be level for three minutes, however, as Taylor would atone for his concession by starting the move that led to the second goal. His ball to Maeda was bang on the money, with the recipient only too happy to contribute further with his delivery into the box. After missing Kyogo, the chance presented itself to Palma, who took a touch and then rifled the ball onto the post and directly in, leaving Oblak with no chance. Originally with an xG of just 0.04, his shot rose in PSxG to 0.42, indicating its quality but acknowledging the difficulty in being able to convert such a chance. The Honduran winger has now contributed to four goals in just seven appearances, in what has been a swift acclimatisation to life in Glasgow for the former Aris man.
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A few minutes later, Griezmann would have another good chance, which was blocked by the ever-impressive Scales in defence (0.17 xG). The same player would have the last chance of the half, wedged in between a half-chance by O’Riley (0.04), with the Frenchman having his shot saved by Hart again. Kyogo and Scales would each have chances before the end of the half in added time, though Celtic did not extend their lead (0.13 combined xG).
Simeone made changes at half-time, and it would largely be one-way sailing in terms of chances for the visitors until the very end through James Forrest (0.06). Morata would threaten from a free-kick chance (0.04 xG), before levelling the game minutes later.
Bernardo would make a good challenge on the impressive Marcos Llorente, before Taylor decides not to follow up on it, in turn allowing the Spaniard to progress. He plays an exquisite ball to Morata, which is matched by the header of the former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Juventus man. His trademark goal, he pounces on the cross and nestles the ball into Hart’s far corner, in what was a touch of class by the Spain international (0.38 xG).
Atletico would continue to push through both Llorente and Morata, as both players were in the mood to inflict further damage on Celtic. Three of their chances achieved a score of just 0.11 in xG however. Rodrigo Riquelme would have a chance (0.01 xG), followed by two from late substitute Angel Correa (0.13 xG combined), but Celtic would hang on for a point, aided by De Paul’s red late-on.
Celtic had just six shots in this game, with half of them being on target, accumulating a score of just 0.57. Their shot map shows the clear lack of chances for the team in the game, particularly in the second half, though a fondness to strike from the right, as Kyogo and Palma are both situated on this side for their goals. No shots were taken outside of Atletico’s box, however. In the Champions League this season, Celtic average 8.33 shots per game, though the quality of the opposition must be considered on this occasion.
Simeone’s team were far busier in terms of attacking, having 15 shots at goal, with seven reaching their target at an xG of 2.37, lowering to 1.91 in cumulative xG. Their shot map demonstrates a lot of joy in central positions, as that is where the majority of their chances are situated. Unlike Celtic, Atletico took numerous shots outside of the box, in an essentially even mix of short and long-range chances. They get 10 shots on average per 90 in this competition, indicating a productive night in shooting, though not the most clinical.
In what was a quiet night in front of goal with regard to chances for Celtic, Kyogo led the shooters with just two at an xG score of 0.31. Forrest, Scales, O’Riley and Palma had one each.
The visitors were statistically more impressive in attack, with their main man Griezmann managing five shots at an xG of 1.18. Morata had three, whilst Correa and Llorente had two. Rodrigo had one.
Possession, passing and positions
As Rodgers expected, Celtic had more of the ball than their opponents, at a percentage of 53 to 47. The home side completed 599 of their 710 passes at a success rate of 84 per cent, whilst Madrid completed 504 passes out of 621 at 81 per cent.
The passing network gives a rough idea of where the majority of the game was played and who was the most involved. Remember that the warmer the colour, the more influential the player was in the game, and the thicker the passing lines, the more passes between the players.
StatsBomb measures pass contributions in on-ball value (often referred to as OBV, a term breakdown of which can be read here).
The passing networks for both teams in both the first and second half indicate how the game changed in terms of what transpired. Not for the first time – despite his defensive struggles – Taylor did well in terms of OBV, posting one of Celtic’s two more positive OBV totals with regard to shading alongside Hart. Atletico’s midfield trio of Koke and De Paul both had stellar first halves in the same regard for the visitors.
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The second half was more spread out in terms of Celtic’s OBV, as Alistair Johnston, Nat Phillips and Carter-Vickers all contributed to this metric. Taylor also continued to be positive. Llorente – probably Madrid’s best player on the night – posted a very warm OBV value in this same period.
In terms of actual statistics, 0.16 was the top OBV value for Celtic, contributed by Taylor. Hart and Carter-Vickers had 0.09. McGregor, Hatate, O’Riley and Maeda all posted negative OBV, however, with the latter scoring a game-low OBV of -0.09. Koke had the highest OBV value in the game with 0.29, whilst Morata had -0.08, despite scoring the equaliser.
Unsurprisingly, O’Riley led the way for key passes, scoring 0.42 for his two contributions in this metric. Taylor, McGregor and Maeda had one each.
Llorente again impressed in another metric, with the substitute contributing three in just 45 minutes, tied with De Paul and Koke, though he had the highest xG with 0.52. Griezmann had two.
Pressing and defending
Celtic initialised a massive 220 pressures in this game to Madrid’s 133, with the home side regaining the ball 30 times compared to 23 for the away side.
There was a new king in town regarding pressures, as Bernardo managed 44 in a breakout performance for the man on loan from Benfica. The usual suspects in Maeda and O’Riley managed 41 and 30 respectively, with Palma contributing 21. Griezmann managed 18, whilst Molina and Koke had 16 each. For counterpressures, O’Riley returned to the top with nine, whilst Maeda had eight. De Paul and Mario Hermoso had four for Madrid.
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O’Riley worked hard defensively in other areas, too. He led both teams in accumulated tackles and interceptions with five. Bernardo and Carter-Vickers had four. De Paul had four combined, whilst Molina and Koke had three.
Carter-Vickers was busy at the back, clearing the ball six times and winning five aerial duels. His partner Scales had four and five of his own. Hermoso and Stefan Savic had four clearances for Atletico Madrid, whilst Morata fad four aerial wins, the most for his side.
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