There is no requirement for the big stick this week.

Brendan Rodgers took to pre-match media duties in northern Italy to point out that a certain object is being metaphorically used to hit him and Celtic over the head during routine fights in European competition. The 7-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund earlier this month was especially punishing for Rodgers.

This meant a more than adequate response. Celtic defended exceptionally well in defying Atalanta. Scoreless parity was just a reward for the efforts of the Scottish champions. Celtic were organized and physically strong throughout the 94 minutes. Atalanta, as you would expect, dominated the ball. What they didn’t do was besiege the Celtic objective in the way you would expect. Celtic showed that the Dortmund debacle may not determine their Champions League campaign. Atalanta ran out of ideas long before he started working full-time.

What was lost in the post-Dortmund debate was that Celtic had started their Champions League campaign with a resounding victory. That result at Slovan Bratislava, plus the upcoming visits of Club Brugge and Young Boys to Glasgow, means Rodgers’ side have a very decent chance of progressing to the play-off round.

So the consequences associated with this match were not about earning back points. Instead it was a test of whether Celtic could be more persistent than they were on an injury night in Germany. The reigning Europa League champions were always going to provide formidable opposition. Celtic faltered in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Aberdeen, throwing away a 2-0 lead. The Italians had every reason to have confidence.

Yet Atalanta had been inefficient during the opening period. Within twenty seconds, Reo Hatate had easily coughed up Celtic possession, which seemed an ominous indicator of things to come. Instead, the visitors were generally completely disciplined. When concentration was required, Celtic showed it. They also posed a threat during the break; Nicolas Kühn should have done better when he raced towards goal in the 10^e minute. Arne Engels tested home goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi, the Belgian’s shot was knocked away.

Atalanta’s early territorial dominance came without reward. Mario Pasalic seemed certain to score, but shot his shot straight at Kasper Schmeichel’s legs. Alistair Johnston made an excellent block to deny Ademola Lookman a minute before half-time. Those incidents, plus a Mateo Retegui header that Schmeichel handled, were the sum of Atalanta’s chances in the first half. Celtic headed into the dressing room at half-time in Dortmund 5-1 behind; this represented a moral victory by comparison.

Álex Valle almost grabbed an unlikely opener for Celtic within five minutes of the restart. Instead, the fullback’s deflected shot flew narrowly over as Carnesecchi scrambled. Isak Hien headed wide and Marten de Roon forced Schmeichel into action from a great distance as Atalanta tried to extinguish the frustration in the stands.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s next move raised eyebrows. Retegui, Serie A’s top scorer, was withdrawn shortly before the hour mark. Rodgers responded by replacing Adam Idah with Kyogo Furuhashi. The Irishman had been a surprise choice to lead Celtic’s attack from the start. Idah spent 68 minutes on the periphery of the match, which he said was hardly his fault.

Gasperini became increasingly irritated. Davide Zappacosta found Schmeichel’s side netting as teammates shouted for a pass. Celtic’s test with twenty minutes to play was one of endurance. Defending with such intensity took energy. Engels left, as did Daizen Maeda, while Rodgers tried to maintain freshness. Valle found Furuhashi with a glorious ball from deep, with the Japanese misplaying his attempted lob from Atalanta’s custodian.

Hien headed over Schmeichel’s crossbar in injury time. Celtic knew they had their point. The celebrations of those in green and white suggested that what happened here meant much more than that.