European Football

Dinamo and Celtic settled for a draw in Zagreb, which sees them both stay in the play-off places. Before the match, Dinamo were one point behind Celtic in the table. Both sides knew that victory would give them a strong likelihood of making the play-offs at the end of the European league campaign. The two teams defended well and battled hard in a game that brandished many yellow cards, particularly in the first half. The game lacked clear-cut chances and the draw was a fair result. The home side came into the match with a serious injury crisis and were missing key players. However, their rising star, Martin Baturina, 21, hailed as the next Luka Modric, looked to deliver something special in the middle of the park. The only significant but unsurprising change for the Glasgow visitors was the selection of Paulo Bernardo over their record signing Arne Engels in midfield alongside Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate. First half: Celtic started well in the first half, with the home side playing like the away team. The Hoops did well in keeping possession, although they could count themselves lucky not going down to 10 men early on following a dangerous tackle by Greg Taylor. It maybe lacked the intensity and force required to see red but they’ve been given. The visitors’ first chance of the game came from an incisive pass from Kuhn into McGregor on the edge of the area. It led to a free kick after the referee blew for handball when a Zagreb player blocked the captain’s pass. Bernardo took the ball and fired directly over the bar. Maybe it was too close to the goal to get it up and over the tall Zagreb wall. The next big moment of the game came when Nicolas Kuhn had some space on the right, inside the box, delivering a cross that a well-spread keeper, Danijel Zagorac, met and deflected behind for a corner. Following the attack, Sandro Kulenovic fell into Alistair Johnson, fouling him. After some complaints from Marko Rog, the referee decided to put both players into the book. Just before the half concluded, Zagreb capitalised on a Celtic mistake. Kulenovic fired a shot wide of the post after a cross was delivered in. A warning shot to Celtic that they needed to stay focused. Then, it was Celtic’s turn for some last-minute pressure, pushing forward when Maeda delivered a cross into the box for Bernardo, whose first touch let him down. After the play, Hatate managed to get on the ball after a quick Celtic counter-press on the edge of the area, and many fans would have been urging him to shoot, yet he got caught in two minds and played a powerful pass to his right that went to no one. Second half: At the beginning of the second half, Tony Ralston was subbed on for right-back Johnston after he felt the effects of the tackle in the first half. Bernardo won the ball down the right with a sliding tackle that fell into the substitute’s path. Ralston played an early ball down the right to Kuhn who managed to get past his marker inside the box and cut inside onto his left. His curling effort was deflected behind for a corner. The Croatian side was next to apply some pressure following some turnovers, with Celtic losing the ball too easily. Pjaca received the ball onto his right foot, striking at goal, only for Auston Trusty to block the shot. Straight after, Taylor had a major miscue by slicing at the ball, which saw the ball fall to Baturina outside the area. He launched tame strike that Kasper Schmeichel saved comfortably. The game began to open, and now it was Celtic’s turn. Bernardo played a short corner, and after a brief passing exchange, Kuhn slid a ball down the right into Bernardo’s path, who crossed to the front post, where Kyogo struck the ball into the keeper. It rebounded back into Cameron Carter-Vicker’s path, who, leaning back too much, shot high and wide. Next, it was up the other end, with Baturina getting a shot off over the bar. The home side, having started the second half the much stronger of the two sides, gave encouragement for the fans who were now in full voice. Unsurprisingly, Rodgers acted early following this spell of pressure by making two changes in the midfield, with McCowan and Engels coming onto the pitch for Hatate and Bernardo. A few minutes after coming on, McCowan received the ball from a surging run from McGregor in the middle of the park before unleashing a strike on target with Zagorac claiming comfortably. With ten minutes to go, Mbuku slid the ball down the right for the hosts into their right-back Ristovski, who lofted the ball into the box to Pjaca. He headed towards the goal, where a concentrated Schmeichel tipped it over the bar. In the concluding moments, Celtic gained attacking momentum and showed a moment of quality with their last chance of the game. Forrest penetrated the host’s defence with a terrific pass down the left of the box to an onrushing Engels, who whipped a ball across the box to Idah. The Zagreb defender managed to stick out a leg and clear the ball away from the Irishman. What a crucial and excellent interception. The game ended in a draw, which is a fair result, given both teams’ chances. In their remaining European ties, Zagreb have two challenging games against Milan and Arsenal. Celtic know that a result at home to Young Boys will likely secure them qualification to the next stage of the Champions League. Celtic also have a League Cup final to look forward to against their Old Firm rivals, Rangers, at the weekend. Teams: D. Zagreb: Zagorac, Bernauer, Kacavenda, Baturina (Hoxha, 83′), Kulenovic, Pierre-Gabriel, Pjaca (Stojkovic, 83′), Ristovski, Theophile-Catherine, Rog, Spikic (Mbuku, 73′). Subs: Filipovic, Nevistic, Torrente, Cordoba, Bakovic, Zebic, Cutuk, Pavic, Jakirovic Celtic: Schmeichel, Johnston (Ralston,