That’s the lot for tonight. Commiserations to Celtic. Thanks for reading and see you next time.
Celtic continue to learn only harsh lessons in the Champions League. For the second game in succession, nobody could reasonably claim they were outplayed by RB Leipzig but the more ruthless team prevailed.
Ange Postecoglu speaks to BT Sport: “The emotions are … disappointed … disappointed for the supporters, disappointed for lads, it was a game we were well in, but the story of our campaign so far is that missed chances have cost us.
“It’s difficult. We’re talking about the highest level of club football. There’s different sort of stresses and anxieties about taking your chances at this level … it’s why clubs spend hundreds of millions trying to solve that problem. From our perspective all we can do is keep sort of putting our players in those situations, and I’m sure they’ll learn from it, and develop from it.
“But when you’re at this level, you pay the ultimate price if you don’t take them.
“I really think so [that Celtic should have got something tonight] … we’ve tried to take the game to the opposition, tried to match the opposition in all aspects … and we’ve come away with nothing again, unfortunately. I can’t fault the players’ endeavour or their application … and they’re disappointed too because they know we had some opportunities tonight to get the result we wanted, and we didn’t take them.
“You’ve just got to keep persevering … it’s understandable our supporters are disappointed … we’ve come a long way in a very short space of time … we want to keep developing at the same rate. You need to keep applying yourself and keep putting yourself in those positions.”
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Postecoglu will be speaking shortly, so I’ll bring you some of his quotes before we wrap up.
Some of this evening’s match reports:
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Cameron Carter-Vickers speaks: “Disappointing not to get a result … for large parts of the game I thought we performed quite well … It’s Champions League football, we’ve got to take our chances.
“It’s disappointing. This is high, high level football. You’ve got to capitalise when you’re on top.
“We’ve got to keep working hard … and hopefully we’ll get there [eventually progress in the Champions League]. We’ve got two games left, we want two positive results, and hopefully we can get that.”
Result: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Real Madrid
Antonio Rüdiger grabbed a late goal for Real Madrid in Warsaw. Leipzig leapfrog Shakhtar as a result.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 2 | RB Leipzig | 4 | -1 | 6 |
| 3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| 4 | Celtic | 4 | -7 | 1 |
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A frustrating night for Celtic. Were Leipzig the better side? They had 60% of possession, and more attempts on target, so you’d probably have to say yes.
Full-time at Celtic Park. #UCL | #CelticRBLeipzig | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/sz0XPNz5pp
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 11, 2022
Real Madrid have equalised against Shakhtar in Warsaw, it’s 1-1 there, extremely deep into stoppage time.
Full-time! Celtic 0-2 RB Leipzig
Celtic are knocked out of the Champions League. It is nine years since they won a home game in the competition.
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90 min + 2: Now Postecoglou shakes his head and rubs his face with both hands. He is gutted.
90 min: Postecoglou, watching from the sideline, looks quite devastated. This is a painful exit on a night they began still harbouring hopes of glory – or at least, a relatively glorious journey into the knockout stages.
88 min: The obvious narrative of this match is that Celtic have again been taught a lesson in how to be clinical and take your chances. And it’s obvious because it’s accurate. Celtic have had created plenty, but rarely looked like having the composure to actually get the ball in the net. Leipzig have been very impressive in every department, composed in possession, and occasionally lethal when they get close to goal.
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84 min: Werner takes the ball down in the penalty area and has time to slide a lateral pass to Forsberg. Despite having Celtic defenders crowded around, the Sweden international controls instantly and then caresses an accurate shot into the top corner. Celtic, barring miracles in the next five minutes or so, are out.
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Goal! 84 min: Celtic 0-2 RB Leipzig (Forsberg)
Class finish. World-class.
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82 min: Celtic continue to press but it’s still thud and blunder rather than blood and thunder. O’Riley had a shot saved a couple of minutes ago.
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80 min: Forrest sends an excellent cross from the Celtic right. Giakoumakis leaps to head it at the far post but he can’t get a clean contact on it, it scuffs wide of the goal, and Henrichs appears to pull him back slightly. They want a VAR check … but they don’t get one.
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78 min: O’Riley tries to make inroads near the Leipzig area but he is muscled out of it.
74 min: Silva gets to the byline for Leipzig and clips a cross back towards the near post. A deft flick by the much-maligned Werner floats into the far corner of the net. A superb finish. Celtic, as it stands, are going out of the Champions League.
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Goal! 74 min: Celtic 0-1 Leipzig (Werner)
That is a brilliant header.
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74 min: Werner tries to play in Nkunku. He misses the ball, or maybe dummies it, and chases after it. Hart sprints off his line and blocks the ball, while Nkunku pulls off a fairly theatrical dive. Leipzig want a penalty, and there is a nervous wait for Celtic while the VAR checks it. But the decision is no penalty which is quite right.
72 min: Nkunku forces a save from Hart after a nice little jink. It’s 100mph from both sides.
69 min: Mooy digs out a good cross for Maeda from the Celtic left. The Japan international takes it on first-time, right-footed, and it squirts out for a goal kick. Positive stuff. But, again, Celtic need more than that.
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67 min: Maeda is sent through on the Celtic left. He has time and space. He opts to hit an early left-footed cross with a runner to aim for in the middle. The result is a horrendous shank that flies high and out for a goal kick. That sums up Celtic’s lack of quality in attack thus far. But can they find a way through?
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65 min: Postcoglu rolls the dice. Giakoumakis, Mooy and Turnbull all come on with Haksabanovic, Kyogo and Hatate all going off.
63 min: Hatate has the ball on the edge of the Leipzig box. The crowd roars again. The end product is lacking again. Leipzig attack, and Chris Sutton on commentary observes that this is like a basketball match. That’s true unless you count the score, which remains 0-0.
61 min: Werner has a good sight of goal from near the edge of the area. He takes a touch and then strokes a right-footed shot which is blocked by a diving Jenz.
58 min: Celtic Park will erupt if Celtic score, that’s for certain. But now it’s Leipzig on the burst, Nkunku sliding a ball to Szoboszlai in the penalty area. Szoboszlai falls over.
In keeping with the match, Celtic steam down to the other end, and Forrest whips a pacy ball across from the right wing, which is slightly overhit and evades everyone.
It almost feels as if the electric atmosphere, and the incessant roar from the fans, is reducing Celtic’s composure when it comes to actually getting the ball in the net.
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55 min: Forrest does well to cut the ball back for Kyogo after an attack down the right wing for Celtic, but it’s another naff effort, as he mis-kicks.
52 min: O’Riley starts a Celtic move with another nice curling pass, but then there’s a hopelessly optimistic ball by Kyogo which is easily mopped up by the Leipzig defence. Celtic desperately need more composure on the ball if they are going to win this.
They would still mathematically have a chance of progress with a draw, but would of course need to go to Madrid and win.
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48 min: Leipzig come again and win a corner after Carter-Vickers slices the ball out in trying to clear. Haidara has a shot blocked from the edge of the area from the resulting corner, but Celtic cannot clear, and Orban then has a sight of goal from an angle at close range … Hart makes another good save with the ball nearly squeezing through his legs. Significant!
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47 min: With his back to goal, Silva cleverly turns Jenz and then slides a dangerous ball towards the penalty spot, but Carter-Vickers tidies it up.
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Second-half kick-off!
Let’s do this.
Shakhtar have scored against Real Madrid and lead 1-0 in Poland.
Half-time! Celtic 0-0 RB Leipzig
Plenty of action at both ends, but no goals. See you in a few minutes for more, and here is some half-time reading:
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45 min: Celtic have had six attempts on goal, Leipzig have had four. But Leipzig have had 62% possession.
44 min: Excellent save by Hart! Leipzig ominously build one of those patient attacks, which culminates in Nkunku jinking beyond a sliding challenge, and smacking a low shot from an angle from close range. Hart is equal to it, though, sticking out a right boot and deflecting it out for a corner. A good stop, for which he is congratulated by his teammates.
40 min: Celtic’s Abada is down injured after a coming-together with Raum. It looks like a painful one and he signals to the bench that his evening his over. James Forrest comes on for his 450th (!!) appearance for Celtic.
🍀 James Forrest comes off the bench to make his 450th #CelticFC appearance!
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 11, 2022
Congrats, Jamesey! 👏#UCL | #CelticRBLeipzig | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/2J1Yj2FqFq
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38 min: Kyogo does well to nick the ball off Haidara in midfield and Celtic break on their left, but again there is a dearth of quality with the final ball, and the cross is easily cleared. Leipzig storm down to the Celtic end and a ball is flashed across from their own left wing.
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34 min: Hatate is booked for a studs-up challenge from behind on Schlager. That was a bad challenge, with the Austrian making a marauding run through midfield.
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32 min: A rare lull. Leipzig have soaked up a lot of pressure, and Celtic look like they need a bit of a breather too.
29 min: Kyogo Furuhashi now heads narrowly over the bar from a great curling ball by Haksabanovic from the Celtic right! He had to get that on target. The ball was on a plate for him, although it was whipped in, and he can’t control the header which he tries to head back where it came from in textbook fashion. It’s all Celtic in the last 10 minutes. But they need to turn this pressure into goals.
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27 min: From a corner, O’Riley hits the base of a post with a fierce shot … it rebounds to Taylor, who tries a side footed shot, that cannons back off the crossbar! So close! Someone else is following up with a header but can’t get it on target.
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25 min: Gvardiol clears the corner. Haksabanovic then runs into space on the left wing, where Celtic are getting plenty of joy, and hammers a shot across which is beaten out by Blaswich. The commentators keep saying Celtic need something to break for them, but maybe they just need a little more control.
23 min: Some good stuff from Celtic again, a bit of tippy-tappy possession on the edge of the Leipzig box. Hatate and O’Riley are both involved. They keep the ball, but can’t pick a path through the defence. They come again, and Maeda drills a low ball into the danger zone, which is blocked out for a corner by Orban.
20 min: A brilliant bit of midfield work by O’Riley, first intercepting a dangerous pass, then freeing his team on the counterattack with a perceptive pass of his own. Celtic rush down into Leipzig’s half, with at least four men in the attack, but again there is a lack of quality in the final third and the attempted cross is blocked. Leipzig attack immediately, and Werner has a sight of goal but colleagues in support, too. He hits a shot from an angle, which is easily read and blocked by Jenz, and Werner’s teammates register their displeasure.
18 min: Werner makes a burst on the left, from near halfway, and then taps a ball inside for Nkunku. But again it’s misjudged and Celtic win the 50-50.
16 min: With a smart little pass, Haidara feeds the former Chelsea forward, Werner, in the penalty area but he can’t find space for a shot. He tries to lay the ball off for a colleague but underhits it and Celtic have the ball back.
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13 min: A ball is launched diagonally for Simakan into the Celtic area but he fouls Taylor and Jenz takes the resulting free-kick. Celtic roar down to the other end and create their second-best chance of the night on the counter but no one can get a clean strike at goal. Leipzig then stream down to the other end, yet again, and Nkunku has an effort blocked. It’s fast and furious and Celtic are channelling the crowd’s energy … but they need composure, too.
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12 min: According to uefa.com, Leipzig have had 80% of possession, which sounds about right. They have tonnes of quality on the ball and are making it show.
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10 min: Leipzig, having fashioned one clear chance, now enjoy a positive spell of possession, pinging the ball around in midfield and starving Celtic of possession.
7 min: Massive chance for Leipzig! Raum curls in a fine delivery from the left wing for Szoboszlai at the far post. The Hungarian meets it right-footed on the volley, despite the close attentions of his marker … the ball bounces back across the goal and out for a goal kick. It could very easily have dropped into the net.
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5 min: The noise is deafening from the home fans, but Leipzig have steadied the ship after that early scare. They win a corner which misses everyone, but then Simakan is fouled by O’Riley and they have a free-kick in a dangerous area on their right wing. Celtic’s defence holds firm. It’s a high-tempo opening and both teams are certainly here to play.
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1 min: Huge chance for Celtic! The hosts start with a fierce spell of pressing that pins Leipzig back. Hatate crosses for Maeda from the right wing, it’s a good delivery and Maeda tries to head it, but can only deflect it high and wide at the far post, only six or eight yards from goal. He may have been better trying to volley that as he never really looked in position to head it. A positive start anyway.
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First half kick-off!
Here we go!
There will be a minute’s silence for the 10 victims of the explosion in Creeslough, County Donegal, that occurred last week.
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The teams are in the tunnel. The orchestra is warming up. The atmosphere is crackling, and you sense Postecoglu is right – this is going to be a belter.
Result from Group H: Maccabi Haifa 2-0 Juventus (!)
Crisis club Juve lurch to a new low: Maccabi Haifa’s first home win since 2002.
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Ange Postecoglu speaks to BT Sport: “We’ve got to be really positive … we’ve got to maintain our discipline tonight.
“I don’t think there will be many moments when you can take a breath … they want a result, we want a result, neither team is going to sit back. It should be a cracking game.
“If we want to continue in the competition, we’ve got to get a result tonight … it’s got to come off the back of a strong performance.”
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The other match in the group this evening is Shakhtar Donetsk v Real Madrid. Due to the war in Ukraine, it will take place in Warsaw, Poland. The champions Madrid will be sure of progress if they win, having won three from three already.
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It’s wall-to-wall this evening – John Brewin has England v Czech Republic in the women’s international football friendly right here:
The Group F table:
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Real Madrid | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 2 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | RB Leipzig | 3 | -3 | 3 |
| 4 | Celtic | 3 | -5 | 1 |
Half a hour until go-time.
Over on Channel 3, Scott Murray has the small matter of Milan v Chelsea, which is another 8pm kick-off:
Ten-man Manchester City are drawing 0-0 with Copenhagen with about 15 minutes left. Barry Glendenning is live-blogging it here:
Celtic have lost their previous six home matches in the Champions League. Is tonight the night to end that run? There is certainly nothing wrong with their home form in other competitions … Fingers crossed.
We are three weeks shy of the anniversary of a famous Celtic triumph. On 7 November 2012, Barcelona – Messi, Iniesta, Xavi et al – were vanquished 2-1 in Glasgow’s east end. Celtic were marching towards the last 16 of the Champions League with Miku, a loanee striker from Getafe, plus a centre-back pairing of Efe Ambrose and Kelvin Wilson. It was a special occasion that turned heads across Europe.
Teams
Jota, who scored Celtic’s goal in the 3-1 reverse in Germany last week, has not recovered from a muscle injury and is left out of the squad. Callum McGregor is out with the knee injury he picked up last week but the fit-again Carter-Vickers, having played at the weekend, lines up in central defence. Juranović, Maeda, Jenz, Taylor and Furuhashi all come back into the starting lineup.
The Leipzig goalkeeper, Peter Gulacsi, has had surgery after tearing a cruciate ligament in last week’s match, and is sidelined as a result. Haidara comes in for Kampl in central midfield.
Celtic: Hart, Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Jenz, Taylor, O’Riley, Hatate, Haksabanovic, Maeda, Furuhashi, Abada. Substitutes: Giakoumakis, Mooy, Turnbull, McCarthy, Bernabei, Abildgaard, Bain, Siegrist, Robertson, Forrest, Ralston, Welsh.
RB Leipzig: Blaswich, Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum, Haidara, Schlager, Szoboszlai, Nkunku, Werner, Andre Silva. Substitutes: Poulsen, Forsberg, Ba, Nickisch, Diallo, Novoa, Henrichs, Kampl.
Referee: Halil Meler (Turkey)
🟢 @ChampionsLeague Team News ⚪️
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 11, 2022
Here is how the Bhoys line up ahead of #UCL matchday 4 ✊
#CelticRBLeipzig | #COYBIG🍀 pic.twitter.com/0x3JowxHsn
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Preamble
The good news for Celtic? They can still qualify for the knockout rounds. The bad news? To stay in with a chance, they have to beat Leipzig this evening, the Champions League debutants who defeated them 3-1 in Germany less than a week ago.
With a point from three matches and three matches to play, the odds are against Ange Postecoglou’s side, but as any student of European football knows, Atalanta managed to qualify from their group in 2019-20 despite having nil points at this halfway stage.
Last month, before their opener against Real Madrid, Postecoglou went viral with his stirring speech about wanting the fans to ‘dream of big wins’. “My job is to make sure they [the fans] come bouncing in, and hopefully we can send them bouncing out,” he said then. In terms of attitude from fans and players alike, the same goes for tonight. A win would be nice, too.
Kick-off: 8pm
