RB Leipzig made it a double over Celtic who had to swallow another Champions League defeat. The Germans left Parkhead with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from ex-Chelsea striker Timo Werner and Swedish sub Emil Forsberg.
The result leaves Ange Postecoglou’s side with a mountain to climb in Group F. The Hoops now sit bottom of the table, five points behind Leipzig, with Madrid and Leipzig occupying the top spots. Just like in Germany a week ago, Celtic had chances to score but were profligate in front of goal and paid the price. In the opening 45 minutes, Matt O’Riley hit the post and Greg Taylor hit the crossbar as Postecoglou’s men pinned the Bundesliga side back.
Kyogo Furuhashi also had a chance to break the deadlock from a Sead Haksabanovic cross but fired his header over. Celtic and Postecoglou would rue those misses after the break. On 75 minutes, Marco Rose’s team got their noses in front.
Werner - deemed to be a flop at Stamford Bridge - steered a brilliant header beyond Joe Hart to silence the home crowd. That knocked the stuffing out of Celtic who had to push forward for an equaliser. Daizen Maeda and Giorgos Giakoumakis both missed chances in front of goal before the Germans put the game to bed late on.
This time £25 million man Werner was the creator as he teed up Forsber who produced a controlled finish into the top corner that wrapped up the point for the visitors. Celtic face Shakhtar next at Parkhead and that game is now a must-win for the Scottish champions if they’re to have any chance of staying in Europe beyond the new year. Here's 5 talking points from Parkhead.
No Holds Barred
Without skipper Callum McGregor - and against quality opposition - Ange Postecoglou must have been tempted to play a holding midfielder against RB Leipzig.
And his squad isn’t exactly short of anchor men who could have sat deep in front of his back four. But it probably goes against all of the Celtic gaffer’s principles to go with a defensive minded player just for the sake of it, especially at Parkhead.
So instead, he left Oliver Abildgard, Aaron Mooy and James McCarthy on the bench against the Germans. Postecoglou went for an attacking 4-2-4 system, similar to the one Liverpool have used in their last few games.
At times, there were gaps and his middle duo of Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate were stretched. But you can’t help but admire Postecoglou’s bravery - not just in going for the Bundesliga side’s throats - but trusting his players not to be over-run in such an offensive system.
Missed opportunities
It’s one of the oldest adages in football - when you’re on top in a game you have to score. But Celtic were guilty, not for the first time this season, of not doing that against the Germans.
As expected, Postecoglou’s side were fast out of the traps. And in terms of chances created, they had the better of an open first 45 minutes. But they were profligate in front of goal and if they continue in that vein - particularly against quality opponents - they’re bound to pay the price.
It was a similar story in Leipzig last week. And in the first half last night, they really ought to have been in front. Daizen Maeda had a decent chance after 50 seconds that he headed over then Kyogo and Greg Taylor had golden opportunities to score.
The full-back had one effort blocked when he should have tested the keeper then scuffed a rebound after Matt O’Riley had hit the post and his shot bounced off the crossbar. Kyogo got on the end of a Sead Haksabanovic cross before half-time but his header flew over, leaving the Celtic manager scratching his head as to why they weren’t in front.
Jota loss
There’s no doubt that Celtic lacked a bit of spark on their left flank last night as they felt the loss of Portuguese winger Jota. The Hoops faithful were hopeful that he’d be fit after Ange Postecoglou refused to rule him out, despite being absent from training on Monday.
But the £6 million wasn’t even on the bench and they were always going to suffer without a player of his quality. Daizen Maeda was given that berth in front of Greg Taylor and the Japanese wide man put a hell of a shift in.
He grafted all night for the team but he doesn’t have the same poise or guile as Jota. The former Benfica star is capable of producing a piece of magic, the kind of which could have decided such a tight Champions League tie.
It remains to be seen how long Jota will be sidelined for but injuries are beginning to creep up on Celtic. Already without Jota and Callum McGregor, Liel Abada also limped off last night against the Germans. The Israeli, along with Jota, have been Postecoglou’s first-choice wingers for big games so he won’t want to be missing them for too long.
Top Werner
He’s been deemed not good enough for Chelsea and since moving to the UK he’s taken plenty of stick. But German striker Timo Werner showed he hasn’t lost his goalscoring instincts with his deadly finish at Parkhead last night.
He was prolific for Leipzig before earning a big move to Stamford Bridge and has now returned to his homeland after failing to set the Premier League alight. At times, Werner flatters to deceive up front.
And his doubters in England felt he was too powder puff to cut it at Chelsea. But he looks like he’s finding his feet again back on loan at RB and in Glasgow last night, he was a constant threat.
Even in the first half, Werner was finding pockets of space between Celtic’s lines and initiated a lot of their counter attacks. He wasted one chance on the break early on but he kept at it.
And with 15 minutes to go, when Andre Silva got to the byline - Werner was the one player on the pitch who read the pull-back perfectly. His brilliantly placed header gave Joe Hart no chance and stuck a dagger into the hearts of Celtic fans.
Shakhtar shock
As if the result at Celtic Park wasn’t bad enough for supporters to stomach, a scoreline in Warsaw sickened them further.mA defeat to Leipzig at home was always going to be damaging to the Hoops’ hopes of progressing from Group F.
But Shakhtar Donetsk’s shock draw against Real Madrid was a surprise - and they were on the verge of a victory that would have stunned the whole of Europe and been even worse. That would have put Celtic out of Europe but they now at least have a chance of third place but have to up their game.
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