Well, that was glorious, wasn’t it?
The European performance we’ve all been waiting for from Brendan’s side.
A full 90 mins of passions, desire, precision and above all an end product.
In many ways, it reminded me of our display at home in the Champions League against Bayern Munich last season where we pushed them all the way and deserved victory but somehow came away with a defeat. However this time we got our just rewards.
RB Leipzig were a really good side. Shorn of talents such as star striker Timo Werner, his strike partner Yussuf Poulsen and playmaker Emil Forsberg they still fielded a front three of Bruma, Cunha and Jean-Kévin Augustin who cost a total of €38 million.
They were strong, accurate in the pass and aggressive from the get-go in a way that I hoped we would be but sometimes you just have to accept you’re up against a really good side who sit fourth – a point behind second – in the Bundesliga for a reason.
Celtic gradually got back into the game and a strong run by the in-form Forrest led to a ball spraying across the box where it was met on the left by Kieran Tierney who steadied himself before driving home.
We then dominated most of the first half but were unable to make the pressure count and Rogic placed one over the bar from the edge of the box after it was laid on by Christie that you would usually fancy him to do better with.
In the second half, the match followed the same pattern with two talented and energetic teams going at it. The post-match possession showed Celtic with 47% and Leipzig with 53% underlining just how evenly matched the contest was though for the best part the Germans were reduced to speculative long-range efforts which whilst always dangerous never really concerned Craig Gordon. However, he did have to make a terrific save from a corner which was met well at the front post by Marcel Sabitzer.
Up the other end Scott Sinclair raced through on goal not long after but failed to pull the trigger and then Edouard harried his way into the box and you thought he’d scored only for the ball to shave the post after taking the slightest nick off keeper Yvon Mvogo’s leg.
You just started to get the feeling it might not be our night with chances like that not being converted.
And that feeling became a reality when Augustin rose to impressively head home a pinpoint cross from Konrad Laimer that caught Lustig sleeping at the back post.
But alas said feeling only lasted 14 seconds as Celtic went rampaging up the pitch from the restart and Ryan Christie crossed for French Eddy to tap home from point-blank range to make it 2-1.
There were some hairy moments thereafter with Youssouf Mulumbu entering the stage and contributing a chaotic 10 mins in which he looked miles off the pace and continuously misjudged passes and tackles. From this Leipzig were able to break into the box and Kevin Kampl nearly broke the crossbar with a thunderous strike. They say you need a rub of the green to win on nights like this and that was definitely ours.
Anyway, with a great sigh of relief, that’s how it finished and now Celtic need to win in Trondheim against Rosenborg in three weeks to go into the final group game with our hopes of qualification intact. A win there coupled with a Salzburg victory at home to Leipzig would mean the Austrians go into the final group game on 15 points with the group sewn up and likely to rest players for their trip to Glasgow. A draw actually makes them group winners as well so really Leipzig have to win that one. If they do then it’s a straight shootout between us and Salzburg in the final game with Celtic requiring to win 2-0 to progress from a very tough group where Rosenborg have thus far only been spectators. Incredibly though they too can still qualify as well. If they beat us by more than a goal and then give the Germans a pasting at the Red Bull Arena on Matchday Six then they’ll the ones to progress which would be incredible. So let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
Anyway, what a display. So many great performances. Christie is banishing all pining for the departed Stuart Armstrong with his sudden emergence, Forrest is on fire, Rogic was relatively quiet – clearly identified as the danger man and subsequently shackled –Â but still looks a class apart at times, Sinclair is refinding his form, McGregor is playing out of his skin, Benkovic looks terrific at the back – shame we can’t keep him – and Tierney was the star man as he relentlessly rampaged up the left-hand side all night.
A fantastic performance that conjured up memories of the heady European nights enjoyed under Martin O’Neill, Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon and the first time a Brendan Rodgers side has really put it together for 90 mins against top-level continental opposition who were really on their game.
Oh and let’s not forget the much-maligned disco lights which actually helped ramp up the pre-match atmosphere and created a pretty magnificent aesthetic.
Anyway, it’s onto tough tackling Livingston for an early kick-off at the idyllic Tony Macaroni Arena on Sunday. A nice little venue that I’ve been to a few times before though back when it was only just called Almondvale.
Livi got off to a flyer under new player-manager Kenny Miller this season that saw him leave after about 20 mins only to be replaced by blink and you’ll miss him ex-Celt Gary Holt who formed part of the memorable Hamilton Cup winning side under Lou Macari back in the balmy summer of 1994 over in Canada.
He guided the West Lothian side to a pretty remarkable seven league unbeaten run with five wins and two draws which included drawing at Tynecastle and defeating Steven Gerrard’s juggernaut 1-0 at home.
However, they have had a recent reality check with back to back defeats at home to St.Johnstone and away to Hamilton.
Still, expect a tough and physical encounter on a pretty piss poor artificial surface that has more sand on it than a beach in Largs and more pellets than a neglected rabbit’s hutch.
Then we enter the dreaded international break that no one is interested in that will likely see Alex McLeish make more bizarre tactical decisions.
But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Until then let’s bask in the warm afterglow of our best European display in years.
....Always A Tim! 