Perhaps Celtic will prove their humiliation in Dortmund was the anomaly in this Champions League campaign. The response has been stirring, courtesy of a fine scoreless draw against Atalanta and this comprehensive win over RB Leipzig. Celtic had already thumped Slovan Bratislava before they were on the wrong end of Dortmund’s brilliance.
Brendan Rodgers had called for Celtic’s supporters to refrain from using pyrotechnics during the visit of the team second in the Bundesliga. Fireworks appeared all right, but on the field, as Rodgers’ team swatted blue-chip opposition aside. Celtic find themselves in a hugely exciting Champions League position. Rodgers was entitled to revel in it, later branding the 90 minutes as the best in Europe during his two spells in charge.
“It wasn’t just the result but the performance,” said Rodgers. “I think we played the game with a great charisma and confidence. We showed courage in our pressing. They had only conceded five goals all season. It was an outstanding team display.”
Leipzig’s showing was muted. Still, it would be uncharitable not to emphasise the part Celtic played in that. The hosts attacked with patience and purpose. They defended pretty comfortably. Leipzig had no answer, to the point where they looked a beaten lot long before the end.
Celtic’s season thus far has been one of extremes. They were excellent in demolishing Slovan Bratislava and holding Atalanta to parity. Aberdeen were trounced 6-0 in Saturday’s League Cup semi-final. The flip side came during that harrowing 7-1 loss in Germany and when tossing away a 2-0 lead against Aberdeen in the league. Rodgers not only knew which version of his team he wanted to see here but knew they could play with freedom; four points claimed from three outings and favourable fixtures to come represented a good position.
Celtic opened with a confidence which suggested they carry no complex about playing at this level. Leipzig were strangely subdued for a team that landed in Glasgow having lost three out of three. The Germans were, however, soon to benefit from generous defending at a corner.
Kevin Kampl’s inswinging delivery was dangerous rather than lethal, with the home centre-back, Cameron Carter-Vickers, flicking the ball on at the near post rather than heading away from goal. Christoph Baumgartner dived to head past Kasper Schmeichel with the Carter-Vickers’s teammates flat footed. Loïs Openda came within inches of nodding another Kampl corner home minutes later. Antonio Nusa lashed high and wide with only Schmeichel to beat.
Celtic’s early promise therefore felt in vain until Nicolas Kühn, recently an outstanding performer, restored parity. There appeared little danger as Kühn jinked towards the corner of the penalty area but the 24-year-old floated a glorious shot into Peter Gulacsi’s net via a post. Gulacsi had been completely deceived. It marked a special moment for Kühn, once of Leipzig’s youth setup.
A better one was to come in first-half stoppage time. Leipzig got themselves into an almighty tangle when trying to play out from the right side of their defence. Enter the outstanding Reo Hatate, whose cross was helped on by Greg Taylor. Kühn, standing alone eight yards from goal, slammed his finish beyond Gulacsi. Celtic had a lead they barely believed but perfectly merited.
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Champions League roundup: Dortmund leave it late to beat Graz
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Borussia Dortmund left it late to secure a 1-0 win over Storm Graz courtesy of Donyell Malen’s strike four minutes from time. The Dutch forward came off the bench in the 67th minute and combined with Serhou Guirassy before firing home to earn the hosts their third win from four games.
Thilo Kehrer stabbed home from close range in the 86th minute to lift Monaco into third, one place above Dortmund in the ‘league phase’ table as they earned a 1-0 win over Bologna. Both sides saw goals disallowed in the first half but the visitors got the winner to leave Bologna without a goal in four matches.
Dusan Vlahovic’s second-half penalty cancelled out Jonathan David’s opener as Juventus drew 1-1 with Lille. The French side threatened to follow up their home win over Real Madrid when David finished a quick counter, but Vlahovic levelled after Francisco Conçeicao was brought down in the area.
In the early games, Dinamo Zagreb earned a second consecutive victory in the competition with an emphatic 4-1 win over bottom club Slovan Bratislava, while PSV picked up their first Champions League win this season with a 4-0 home thrashing of Girona. PA Media/Reuters
Hatate flashed a shot wide as Celtic chased a third. Of equal value to Rodgers was that after an hour, Leipzig were applying only minimal pressure. Unsurprisingly, Marco Rose turned to his bench and introduced Yussuf Poulsen and Elif Elmas to at least try to add some punch to the Leipzig display. By that second-half point, Schmeichel had only been tested by a long range Benjamin Sesko attempt.
A howler from Gulacsi afforded Celtic breathing space. Alistair Johnston’s low cross should not have caused the Leipzig goalkeeper a problem. Inexplicably, he spilled the ball straight to the feet of Hatate. The Japanese midfielder could barely miss, and did not.
Very little that had come before inferred Leipzig had the capacity to reply. Indeed, Celtic remained largely on the front foot. Few could have predicted there would be seven points between these teams, in Celtic’s favour, after four matches. Nothing about that position looks like a distortion. Rodgers found himself fielding questions about whether Celtic can even aim for the top eight. He played down that giddy idea; maybe it was unwise to.
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