Scotland earned a respectable 0-0 draw against Portugal in the Nations League Friday night thanks to a tenacious and focused performance. Even though Roberto Martinez’s excellent team included players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Jota, and Bruno Fernandes, Steve Clarke’s Scotland team refused to back down and neutralized the Portuguese team’s attacking threat.
Scotland’s back three included our own Anthony Ralston, Grant Hanley of Norwich, and John Souttar of Rangers, all of whom are reputable professionals but are completely out of their league at this top level. Nevertheless, they more than equaled the Portuguese power because to their unwavering faith and perseverance, as well as Steve Clarke’s precise formation and strategy.
Although it wasn’t very pretty to watch, it worked well and produced the desired outcome. When facing the best teams in European competition, Celtics boss Brendan Rodgers should be aware of this.
Perhaps Atalanta is superior to Dortmund.
Next week, we take on Atalanta, who are known for their offensive approach and are a team full of quality. I think the previous season’s Europa League winners are a stronger team than Borussia Dortmund, and we all know how our journey to Germany went. awfully.
while it comes to irritating the top clubs in the Champions League while they’re playing away from home, Brendan could do far worse than to borrow a page from Steve Clarke’s book. Though audacious, our offensive strategy is ultimately doing more harm than good. Closing shop against teams that have superior players than Celtic everywhere on the field is not a sign of weakness.
Naturally, Brendan has made it quite evident that his team’s goal for every Champions League matchup is to play to their strengths and dominate the opposition. Indeed, Celtic’s performance that night in Dortmund was far inferior to theirs. However, we continue to demand another crushing loss. I hope I’m wrong, but if it were provided right now, I’d take a scoreless draw with Atalanta.
But Brendan has made it very evident that he has no intention of switching up his approach.
