Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic battle for goalless stalemate at Dinamo Zagreb

Celtic fought out a goalless draw in their Champions League clash at Dinamo Zagreb to take a valuable point in their bid to reach the knockout stages.

The Hoops had the best of a mainly drab first half at the Stadion Maksimir without endangering Zagreb’s goal with the home side threatening only on a couple of occasions.

The match came alive to an extent after the break but clear-cut chances remained at a premium with a great save by Hoops goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel – near the end – proving crucial.

Goalless draw in Zagreb... #UCL pic.twitter.com/JXtuJCbScH

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) December 10, 2024

Brendan Rodgers’ men have nine points from six fixtures with games against Young Boys at home and away to Aston Villa to come and they will believe the knockout stages are well within their grasp.

The William Hill Premiership leaders now return to Glasgow to face Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup final at Hampden on Sunday, looking to secure the first trophy of a potential domestic treble.

Celtic travelled on the back of a 3-0 win over Hibernian at Parkhead but the visitors had chances aplenty.

Thus, there was no surprise to see the return of centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, along with midfielders Paulo Bernardo and Reo Hatate and striker Kyogo Furuhashi, while captain Callum McGregor was making his 100th appearance in Europe for Celtic.

The injury-hit hosts – who began the match without a win in five games – started with only one point less than Celtic but the visitors quickly and comfortably took control.

However, chances of any sort were few and far between.

After Lukas Kacavenda handled the ball at the edge of his own box in the 15th minute, Bernardo clipped the resulting free-kick over the crossbar.