Goals from Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg ensured it was a night to forget for Celtic as they lost 2-0 to RB Leipzig in the Champions League. Two second-half strikes made the Hoops rue several missed chances and that has now made sure of the fact that they cannot qualify for the last 16 of the tournament due to their adverse head-to-head record with the German outfit.
Ange Postecoglou 's men had a bucket full of chances, namely to strikers Kyogo Furuhashi and Giorgos Giakoumakis, although the failure to capitalise found Werner, who was lively all game, in the perfect spot to put the away side 1-0 up, before substitute Forsberg's well-taken second put a dagger in Celtic hearts to leave their Europa League chances on a knife's edge. Leipzig took a huge step towards qualification with their win, whilst Celtic will have to go again next year if they are to dine with the big boys of Europe once again.
Here's what the pundits had to say on the final whistle.
Chris Sutton
"The better team won. Celtic looked tired in the 2nd half and gave away too many chances. Leipzig eventually capitalised.
"So many missed opportunities the story of this season’s campaign. Got to stick with what this manager is trying to achieve though and trust the process."
Gordon Strachan
"I'll tell you what he's not going to do; he's not going to walk into the dressing room tomorrow and go: 'Right lads, we're going to change this and be more defensive.'
"He's going to go: 'Here we go again. We're going to beat Shakhtar and we're going to try and progress.' But progressing with certain players is only going to take you to a certain level. That's for sure.
"It's about quality. He's getting as much out of these players as anybody can get out of them. You look at it; at crucial times, they could have scored a lot of goals. They're doing a lot of things right. Their chances are as good as anybody. It's when it goes the other way, it can be a problem. Defending against great players.
"I go and watch golf live. I watch them swing and think right, I'll do that. But I'm not good enough. I've not got the power to hit it 300 yards. I can learn, but if you've not got the technical ability, strength and everything else. You can learn, but it's having the players to learn and progress. That's going to be the difficult part.
Peter Grant
"Celtic lost a bit with the substitutions and that is disappointing. In that five minute period (after the triple change) they looked all over the place and that gave Leipzig a foothold to score the first goal."
John Collins
"Celtic will be bitterly disappointed with the result, but once again they went toe-to-toe with a good team. The players are giving the manager everything. In the final third they created good chances, but never took them."
Stiliyan Petrov
"It's a learning process for him and the team. It's not just about the quality in the way you play. You have to get results in a certain way.
"You have to make that difference. You have to make sure you give yourself a chance. People talk about how well we do, but people also talk about what you achieve and achieving is winning games. That's what you analyse.
"When that campaign finishes, you analyse and add what you need to add for the next one."
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