Due to their negligence, Celtic’s ambitions of progressing in the Champions League were ended after a dismal home loss to RB Leipzig.
Matt O’Riley, Greg Taylor, Daizen Maeda, and Kyogo Furuhashi all had quick chances to score the opening goal, but they all missed them.
The ruthlessness Leipzig’s late goals from Timo Werner and substitute Emil Forsberg showed was something Celtic lacked. The Scottish champions are currently in last place after just earning one point from four games. The possibility of Celtic finishing in the top two spots is now eliminated, but thanks to Real Madrid’s late equalizer away at Shakhtar Donetsk, who are now four points ahead in third and will visit Glasgow in two weeks, Celtic’s prospects of earning a Europa League spot have strengthened.
A confusing sequence that occurred in the middle of the first half aptly encapsulated Celtic’s group stage weaknesses. Taylor pounced on the loose ball with the goal at his mercy and scuffed it onto the bar after O’Riley’s 20-yard attempt rattled the base of a post. Following a feed from Sead Haksabanovic, Kyogo’s gilt-edged header brushed the wall a little while later.
In the first few seconds, Maeda skimmed an awkward header just inches over, creating a stressful environment. Celtic has been sent to the elimination phase with two games remaining because of wasteful finishing. In the end, a sophisticated Leipzig squad that had found Joe Hart in dominant form overcame them. Christopher Nkunku’s strong shot was expertly deflected over the goalpost by the Celtic goalkeeper, who had allowed a goal in the team’s defeat in Germany the previous week. Then he changed his position to reject Willi Orban.
The length of time it took for a goal to be scored in the second half was the one unexpected element as Celtic wore thin. Leicester defender Aaron Mooy’s cross was volleyed wide by Maeda at one end and blazed over by Mohamed Simakan at the other. Werner rewarded Leipzig’s growing threat with a header into the bottom corner following an accurate cross from Andre Silva.
However, despite opportunities, the replacement Giorgos Giakoumakis failed to score from close range. But Leipzig eliminated any possibility of a tie when Werner passed to Forsberg, who took a touch and then sent an accurate finish into the top corner. A night that held a lot of promise for Celtic comes to a close with the familiar ache of wasted opportunities and an unwelcome Champions League record.
The Glasgow team has now matched Monaco’s record of dropping seven straight group-stage home games, a streak that began in 2016. Due to the absence of captain Callum McGregor due to injury, Ange Postecoglou intensified his attacking approach, and O’Riley performed well in a deeper midfield position than he is used to. As the hosts offered everything they had for a large portion of this game, left-back Taylor also excelled.
But the statistics are infuriating. Only two of the Celtic’s 16 shots were on goal, and their 1.75 XG (expected goals) further emphasizes their inability to score. It was to be expected that Leipzig would not be as kind on the other end. For Celtic to be eligible for Europa League football, they must defeat Shakhtar at home and at least draw with Real in Madrid. Real is already qualified.
Match Statistics:
The greatest streak of home defeats by a side in the competition, which was previously held by Monaco between May 2017 and December 2018, has been matched by Celtic, who have lost each of their last seven Champions League games at home (7).
RB Leipzig won for the first time ever in Scotland after losing to Celtic and Rangers on the road earlier (they won their previous three home games v Scottish sides).
Celtic had 16 shots, their most in a Champions League match without scoring since November 2013 against Milan (20 shots, 0 goals).
For the first time since October/November 2016, Celtic has gone two games without scoring at home in Europe, including during the group stages of the Champions League.
In his last four away Champions League games, Werner of RB Leipzig has been directly involved in seven goals, scoring four (four for Leipzig, three for Chelsea) and providing three assists (1 for Leipzig, 2 for Chelsea).
Werner became the fifth player for RB Leipzig in the competition to record a goal and an assist in the same Champions League match (also Sabitzer, Poulsen, Angelino, and Nkunku).
For more statistics and insights on matches and players, keep watching this space.