Celtic’s stunning 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig officially confirmed the turning of a page in Europe under Brendan Rodgers…
Scintillating German winger Nicolas Kuhn
Scintillating German winger Nicolas Kuhn’s spectacular double, followed by Reo Hatate’s pouncing finish following a dreadful error from Leipzig goalkeeper Peter Gulasci sealed the Hoops a statement victory against Marco Rose’s outift who sit second in the Bundesliga. In doing so, the Leipzig manager’s run of four consecutive victories over the Scottish champions came to a crushing end.
The Bundesliga side sit on zero points after four matches
While the defeat for Celtic’s opposition sees the Bundesliga side sit on zero points after four matches in the new revamped League phase format, Brendan Rodgers men are flying. Seven points with half of our games remaining establishes Celtic only need one more victory to secure an impressive top 24 finish. Three wins from either of Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, BSC Young Boys or Aston Villa would almost guarantee a top eight finish which would insure last 16 football in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time since the iconic 2012/2013 Champions League campaign.
Leipzig’s former academy graduate Nicolas Kuhn
It was Leipzig’s former academy graduate Nicolas Kuhn who wielded the dagger into their Champions League knockout stage hopes. For Celtic, it is their first win against a team from one of Europe’s top five leagues since Neil Lennon’s Hoops incredibly defeated Barcelona on 7 November 2012, which will be twelve years to the day tomorrow.
New chapters were also turned. 26 attempts later against German opposition in Europe’s elite club competition, and Celtic finally have a win to their name following a sensational display against Leipzig.
Celtic’s newfound resilience
When Christoph Baumgartner opened the scoring in the match, the outcome thereafter seemed a formality given that prior to yesterday evenings victory, Celtic had lost 27 of their last 28 Champions League matches when they conceded the first goal.
You would have to go back to Spartak Moscow in 2012 the last time Celtic fell behind in a group stage/league phase game and came back to win. Newfound resilience in this domain only adds to the evidence Rodgers’ Celtic are a different animal in Europe compared with previous Hoops teams in recent seasons.
Wins against Feyenoord, Slovan Bratislava and now RB Leipzig ticks off another prolonged record that was dismantled last night. It is the first time Celtic have won three consecutive Champions League matches since 2007. With encounters against Club Brugge and BSC Young Boys on the horizon, can Rodgers’ side do the clean sweep at Paradise in the competition?
The technical display on show from the Scottish champions last night was remarkable. Confidently producing a world-class performance against one of Europe’s big hitters on this stage should give the players belief that they can strive for top eight finish in the Champions League. Supporters should be allowed to dream, and Brendan Rodgers looks as if he has turned Celtic Park back into a fortress again under the lights in Europe.
Conor Spence
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