Celtic Supporters Express Strong Approval After Champions League Win

Following Celtic’s 3-1 home triumph over Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, supporters expressed their enthusiasm, describing the event as “a beautiful, magical night”, a “breath-taking performance”, “a joy to watch”, and the team’s finest showing in two decades, predicting it “will raise eyebrows around Europe”. While football enthusiasts, particularly those of a club like Celtic with high expectations for winning performances, are often discerning, Brendan Rodgers’ team secured a significant victory that garnered widespread acclaim. Below are selected comments from individuals who contacted us. Prentice commented: “The best Celtic performance I have witnessed since the 2003 Uefa Cup final season. Defensively, we were rigid. Cameron Carter-Vickers is the best defender we’ve had at the club since Virgil Van Dijk. Kuhn is doing an incredible job of proving the doubters of last season wrong. Dare I say we can have one eye on the top-eight.” Craig stated: “It was a beautiful, magical night. From the noise at the Champions League anthem until the final whistle, the stadium was rocking and the players were at it. A memorable Champions League night that we haven’t seen in many a year. Not just the result but the performance.” Daithi remarked: “What an unbelievable performance by Celtic. They showed up finally in a Champions League tie. They were clinical at passing and closing down their opponents when they had to. Kuhn was unplayable. His finish for his first goal would have been talked about all night if it was Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo who had scored. Perfect performance from everyone on this great Celtic team.” Andy shared: “Best Celtic display I’ve seen since the days of Chris Sutton, Henrik Larsson and co. The game management in the second half was incredible. Now we need to consolidate this by getting three points against Bruges.” Paul observed: “The team have matured and just keep getting better. They learn their lessons from poor performances and correct their deficiencies with good coaching, dedication and tremendous work ethic.” Alan exclaimed: “Outstanding performance by Celtic! A few eyebrows will be raised across Europe.” Russell noted: “The team played with a confidence and maturity that belied the fact that Dortmund had won comfortably and Leipzig were tipped for something similar. It’s a credit to Celtic that they dominated all but 10 minutes of the match and could have scored five or six.” Nickie commented: “Breath-taking performance. Thought it was going to go from bad to worse when we went 1-0 down. Kuhn is a cracking player.” John stated: “Great to see the manager learn from his mistakes in Dortmund and produce a performance where the team attacked when opportunities arose and professional in possession – so much so that the opposition ran out of ideas and the last 10 minutes.” Jude remarked: “Best European performance since the early noughties. Every player shone and kudos for sticking to their style of play against a top German side.” Edward observed: “A real test of the team’s character and belief to go one down and come back to dominate the game and record a convincing win. The Leipzig players were a spent force with 10 minutes to go, run ragged by the sheer pace of the Celtic play. The one-touch passing was a joy to watch.” Reo Hatate (left) netted Celtic’s third, decisive goal. What do the statistics reveal regarding the significance of Celtic’s accomplishment on Tuesday? With seven points, Celtic has already accumulated their highest tally in a Champions League campaign since the 2012-13 season. An additional three points would equal their total from that period, and Opta statisticians project that reaching 10 points would secure a play-off position in the competition’s new format, placing Celtic 13th in the 36-team standings. This marked Celtic’s first instance of winning three consecutive home Champions League matches since November 2007, when the team was managed by Gordon Strachan. Leipzig has now suffered defeats in all four of their Champions League fixtures this season, becoming the first German club to experience such a challenging start since Stuttgart in 2007. Nevertheless, Leipzig currently holds the second position in the Bundesliga, three places higher than Borussia Dortmund, a team that previously defeated Celtic 7-1 at home. Demonstrating resilience in overcoming a deficit, Celtic, who had previously lost 27 of 28 Champions League matches after falling behind, managed to secure a victory for the first time since 2007. Adding to the disappointment for Tuesday’s visiting team was the fact that the primary contributor to their latest three goals was a German player, specifically Nicolas Kuhn, a former Leipzig youth academy member and a slender winger. The 24-year-old, acquired from Rapid Vienna in summer 2023, achieved a milestone by becoming the first Celtic player since Roy Aitken in October 1979 (against Partizana Tirana) to net two goals in the first half of a Champions League/European Cup fixture. Kuhn, who also contributed to the creation of the third goal, has participated directly in 19 goals (comprising nine goals and 10 assists) for Celtic across all competitions this season, a total that exceeds any of his teammates by at least seven.