3 takeaways from Celtic’s Champions League draw with Atlético Madrid

Celtic remain at the foot of Champions League Group E after a 2-2 draw with Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid side at Celtic Park last night.

Parkhead was rocking in the first half after goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma cancelled out Antoine Griezmann’s rebound following a penalty miss.

The Spaniards grabbed an equaliser early in the second-half through Alvaro Morata but neither side was able to find a late-winner. Just a point on the night leaves Celtic with a titanic task of getting out of the Champions League, with trips to Madrid and Rome still to come as well as the visit of Feyenoord to Celtic Park on matchday 6, a game that is now definitely a must-win fixture.

The Hoops remained competitive and once again were arguably the better side over the course of 90 minutes in what was an encouraging performance. We are seeing green shoots of improvement at this level, which we hope can be built on by Brendan Rodgers.

Matt O’Riley: the star man again

Matt O’Riley picked up UEFA’s player-of-the-match award for the second time in his career, following his accolade against Shakhtar Donetsk last year. The midfielder provided an incisive pass for Kyogo’s opening goal which had the perfect amount of weight on it, and was always proving to be a thorn in the visitors’ side all game.

This award is just another form of recognition for his top-drawer displays this season, both domestically and in European competitions, and he will be hoping that the decision-makers at the Danish national team will be taking notice.

Palma is a top finisher

After seeing a goal on his Champions League debut against Lazio cancelled out by VAR, the Honduran stated post-match last night that he felt he had “avenged” that decision by opening his scoring account in the competition.

Rodgers made the decision to switch the wingers, and Palma popped up on the right-hand side to lash his effort in off the post following a cross from Daizen Maeda that appeared to have evaded everyone in green and white.

He is quickly becoming a fans’ favourite due to his knack for producing the remarkable, and that goal last night will only earn him further acclaim from the Celtic support.

Floodgates open for Kyogo

Kyogo Furuhashi had gone 7 Champions League games without a goal, something that had fans scratching their heads due to his remarkable form domestically.

Questions began to be raised over his European pedigree and the doubters started to wonder whether the Champions League was a level above him, but those doubters have been swiftly silenced over the last few European fixtures.

He grabbed his second consecutive Champions League goal against the Spaniards and now seems to have overcome the nerves in front of goal that he suffered during last season’s campaign, once again taking his time to provide a composed finish that saw Celtic Park erupt.

JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE