Celtic went head to head with RB Leipzig in the UEFA Europa League earlier this evening hoping to come away with a result from Germany. The home team settled into the game well and created some good chances early on. The Hoops suffered an early setback in the 30th minute when Matheus Cunha scored from 12 yards out to hand Leipzig a deserved lead. Bruma doubled the German outfit’s advantage just four minutes later when he rifled home the second goal after some dreadful Celtic defending.
The Bhoys came out looking to respond in the second half, but Leipzig dominated possession which made life increasingly hard for Brendan Rodgers’ men. Both teams fought hard but couldn’t add to the goal tally as the match finished 2-0 in favour of the German side.
Let’s take a look at how each Celtic player performed during the encounter against RB Leipzig.
GK: Craig Gordon – 6/10
The Hoops goalie made some crucial saves to keep the score down but was left helpless by his defenders in the lead-up to both Leipzig goals in the first half.
RB: Cristian Gamboa – 4/10
He made an error of judgement in the first half when his sliding tackle missed its mark which let Marcelo Sarrachi in to deliver a cross that fell in Bruma’s path who made no mistake from close range. Gamboa was taken off at half-time due to an injury.
CB: Jozo Simunovic – 6/10
He battled hard in the first half and made a few strong tackles, but it wasn’t enough to stop Leipzig from scoring twice. Simunovic suffered an unfortunate injury in the second half and had to be carried off in a stretcher.
CB: Dedryck Boyata – 5/10
He misjudged the ball which left Cunha free inside the box who fired home to score the German outfit’s opening goal. However, Boyata put on a better showing after the half-time break but got cautioned in the dying embers of the contest.
LB: Kieran Tierney – 5/10
The Hoops full-back was not as adventurous as he usually is going forward. Tierney hardly threatened inside the opposition half which would disappoint him.
CM: Callum McGregor – 6/10
He tried his best to get some shots in at the Leipzig goal but was not on the mark with his execution.
CM: Eboue Kouassi – 5/10
He was at fault in the lead up to Leipzig’s opener when he failed to read the danger and make a clearance to prevent Cunha from scoring,
CM: Olivier Ntcham – 5.5/10
He worked hard and showed a lot of fight while making runs from midfield. However, Ntcham lacked the finishing touch and was guilty of squandering some good chances during the game.
CAM: Ryan Christie – 5/10
The Celtic midfielder was tidy on the ball but was marked tightly by the Leipzig defenders which made him ineffective throughout the match.
ST: Odsonne Edouard – 5/10
The Bhoys forward tried to be inventive but was let down by some poor decision making in the attacking third. He also missed an excellent chance to test the Leipzig keeper early on when his shot went just wide of the far post.
ST: Lewis Morgan – 6/10
Morgan made a bright start to the game but his effect on the match faded and he was subbed to make room for Scott Sinclair in the second half.
Substitutes:
RB: Mikael Lustig – 6/10
He had to come off the bench at half-time to fill the shoes of the injured Gamboa for 45 minutes.
ST: Scott Sinclair – 5/10
Rodgers decided to call upon his services to provide some fresh energy up top.
CB: Jack Hendry – 5/10
He came on to replace the injured Jozo Simunovic for the final quarter of the contest.
