Auston Trusty shines in Celtic’s Champions League draw with Atalanta

Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic rebounded from its last UEFA Champions League match on Wednesday with American defender Auston Trusty shining in Bergamo.

Trusty logged 90 minutes as Brendan Rodgers’ squad earned one point in a 0-0 draw with Serie A hosts Atalanta. It marked a bounce-back result for Celtic, who suffered a 7-1 hammering at the hands of Borussia Dortmund on Matchday 2.

“Dortmund was just one of those games,” Trusty said postmatch in an interview. “The beauty of football is that there’s always another game, you can react and show the world what team you really are.

“Sometimes you just have those nights, and obviously that’s a night we’d never want to see again or feel again,” he added. “That put a pit in our stomachs, so we wanted to come out here and show the world what we can do and what kind of team we really are.”

Celtic held firm despite Atalanta’s constant pressure throughout the match. Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel made six saves to earn a road clean sheet while Trusty continued his partnership with Liam Scales.

Trusty made 14 clearances, six recoveries, and won three duels in his fourth start for the club.

Despite Cameron Carter-Vickers’ continued absence from the squad, Trusty has filled in nicely for his U.S. men’s national team teammate. He will aim to continue holding down the spot, even after Carter-Vickers returns.

Celtic will resume Premiership play on Sunday at Motherwell before closing its October schedule on Oct. 30 vs. Ross County.