It was a decade ago this week Red Bull pulled one of their biggest PR stunts when they sent a daredevil up to the heavens in a hot air balloon to do a skydive from space.
The rocket fuel fizzy drink manufacturers sponsored Felix Baumgartner’s record breaking leap and Celtic found out again it turns out the football team they fund can also hit the heights at the right times. The Parkhead men’s sense of vertigo in the final third yet again hurt them and the brutal fact is there’s been a failure to launch in this Champions League campaign.
RB Leipzig were not out of this world in Glasgow. They didn’t have to be, even if they did step up in the second half for the second week in a row. It should have been lift-off but once more Celtic couldn’t handle the atmospheric pressure in front of goal.
The Hoops needed to take that final leap in the penalty area and when they didn’t, everyone inside Parkhead knew they’d come crashing down to earth at some point. Flying Felix broke the sound barrier on his way down and you could’ve heard a pin drop inside Celtic Park when Timo Werner struck with the inevitable opener with more silence after Emil Forsberg’s killer second.
Group F has already turned into Group What If with two games to go. Second spot was always going to be a big ask but third is still in with a shout. But the Hoops will need to find their shooting boots as there are no parachutes up for grabs for finishing fourth.
Celtic Park is quite a sight on Champions League nights – but there were a couple of things Hoops fans didn’t want to see in the stands. They wanted Jota twisting and turning defenders on the wings. Instead the Portuguese attacker was turning heads in the directors box as he sat wearing the kind of bunnet usually sported by the Still Game crew in the Clansmen.
Then there was Callum McGregor. The skipper isn’t the kind of guy to be attracting attention for his clobber but his absence in the heart of his team was more noticeable than ever. McGregor’s injury was a mammoth blow to Hoops’ hopes and there was another when Liel Abada hobbled off just before half-time.
Postecoglou is not a man to make excuses but he could be forgiven for reaching for a few at that stage – especially when he had already torn clumps of hair out with the opportunities his side had missed. A lot is made of all these chances Celtic have fluffed in the Champions League and the numbers are frankly a bit ridiculous.
Postecoglou’s men had 18 attempts on goal against Real Madrid, 21 when they faced Shakhtar Donetsk, 17 in Germany and 18 last night – with only two on target. One goal from 74 digs is not the kind of return Celtic want, or probably deserve, but there is another side of the coin.
If these attacking players were sticking these in the back of the net on a regular basis they probably wouldn’t be in Scotland. They’d be pocketing 100 grand a week and maybe coming up against Celtic in this competition.
It’s a different ball game creating 25 chances a week on these shores and finishing off two or three to rack up the wins. The higher you go, the harder it gets to keep the head when it matters most.
Close-range headers sent into orbit, shots hitting the post and bar, going for the bottom corner when the cut back was the better option. Celtic could have been over the horizon by half-time yet again but too many front men were wearing moon boots.
What goes up, must come down and when Celts push high up the pitch it only takes one ball to break the press. There were warning lights flashing. Leipzig didn’t look too clever at the back as well but they were let off the hook.
And when the legs inevitably start to go, Celtic drop like a 10-ton stone. Another tough lesson for Postecoglou and his side – but they should know by now the higher you go, the harder the fall.
READ NEXT:
