Nicolas Kuhn scored an impressive double as Celtic secured back-to-back home wins in this season’s Champions League with a convincing 3-1 win against RB Leipzig.
The Hoops again proved their dismal showing in Dortmund was a one-off as they took belief from their draw against Atalanta last time out to stun the side sitting second in the Bundesliga.
Christophe Baumgartner headed the visitors in front but Kuhn curled a stunning shot in off the post and smashed Greg Taylor’s cross into the net before the break.
Parkhead was rocking and Reo Hatate put the game out of reach as he slammed the ball in after Leipzig keeper Peter Gulacsi made a mess of Alistair Johnston’s cross.
Daizen Maeda had the ball in the net in stoppage time but the offside flag was up.
Celtic now have seven points from four games with four games remaining, while RB Leipzig are yet to get off the mark in the competition.
Champions League progression remains within Celtic’s reach
Kuhn came through the Leipzig youth ranks before arriving in Glasgow in January following spells in the B teams of Ajax and Bayern Munich and at Rapid Vienna, and nobody would have enjoyed Celtic’s redemption against German opposition more than him.
The home side looked assured in possession and pressed their visitors well in the opening stages. Arne Engels had a shot blocked after Maeda got in behind and Kuhn drifted past his marker to put a dangerous ball across the face of goal.
The complexion of the game completely turned when Benjamin Sesko curled just wide with the aid of a deflection. Any goal might have been disallowed for what looked a foul on Auston Trusty in the centre circle but Celtic suddenly struggled to get out of their half or retain possession.
Kasper Schmeichel pushed Lois Openda’s shot wide after Trusty had gifted Leipzig possession and the visitors took the lead from Kevin Kampl’s corner midway through the half. Cameron Carter-Vickers’ flick inadvertently set up Baumgartner, who dived to head home from close range.
Kuhn was the catalyst for the game to turn on its head again. The former Germany youth international was involved in some good play down the right just before receiving Engels’ flick, cutting inside and clipping an inch-perfect shot in off the post from 20 yards in the 35th minute.
Kuhn soon won the ball back deep in own half and was at the centre of some good possession play before cutting the Leipzig defence open with a wonderful pass with the outside of his foot. Maeda could not keep his shot down from the edge of the box.
Celtic kept the pressure on. Johnston had a shot saved before Kyogo Furuhashi beat two men and angled a goal-bound shot which was diverted wide by Orban’s sliding block.
Kuhn doubled his tally in stoppage time when he slotted home after Greg Taylor had helped Hatate’s pass across the six-yard line.
The wide player had a half-chance for a hat-trick within four minutes of the restart following Callum McGregor’s dynamic break but he skied his shot.
Hatate came close from 20 yards before Leipzig had some pressure and Schmeichel made a good diving save from Sesko following a long ball.
Celtic soon rediscovered their verve. Hatate forced a diving stop after brilliant wing play from Kuhn and several balls fizzed across the Leipzig box.
Schmeichel produced an excellent stop from Baumgartner’s volley but Celtic were soon back on the attack and Hatate was on hand to net from three yards in the 72nd minute when Gulacsi spilled Johnston’s low cross.
‘Outstanding’
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Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers:
“I think we started the game with a real good confidence. We then conceded the goal, so we got rocked for a little bit and we were a bit loose on our passing, but I think the maturity in the team to then recover from that, score the first goal and continue to play.
“I’m always demanding, especially on the pressing side of the game and the aggressive side of the game, I thought that we were absolutely outstanding in that.
“I felt tonight we had that combination of the vibrancy and excitement in attack from the Bratislava game and then the real tactical discipline in our defending from Atalanta.
“I think we pulled those two together to produce an outstanding team performance against a really, really, really good side, who have only conceded five goals all season.
“So to score three and have other opportunities to score, I tip my hat to the players.”
Story of the match in stats…
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Source : Sky Sports
