Europe: Champions League
⚽ T. Werner (75), ⚽ E. Forsberg (84)
By Jonathan Dicks @Jonathan_Dicks
With some excellent second half play from Timo Werner, Leipzig won 2-0 in their trip to Celtic Park on Champions League Matchday 4.
| Marco Rose. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Leipzig badly needed a win in hopes of getting closer to securing a spot in the knockout round. Timo Werner stepped up when it counted to earn the Red Bull club a hugely important victory after Shakhtar Donetsk blew a lead in the 95th minute to Real Madrid in their group.
Compared to their disappointing draw to Mainz on the weekend, Marco Rose nearly implemented a completely new defensive lineup. Leipzig showed their quality early by dominating possession and pushing high up the pitch, but couldn’t seriously challenge Joe Hart in goal.
As the half wore on, Celtic grew in confidence after taking advantage of some poor Leipzig mistakes and even hit the post twice in the 27th minute. David Raum’s crosses kept flying in from the left, but no one in a Red Bull shirt could manage to get on the end of any of them.
Christopher Nkunku created the best chance of the half in the last few minutes, but Hart stuck out a leg to keep the game scoreless heading into halftime.
The frantic pace continued with Leipzig pinning back Celtic’s defense with some decent play from Andre Silva up front. Both teams were desperate for a breakthrough goal, as Leipzig especially continued to struggle getting a shot on target inside the box.
Werner’s header finally gave Leipzig their lead after a cross from Silva in the 75th minute. Then, Werner turned the provider and found Emil Forsberg for another goal to close out the contest in the 84th minute.
Celtic failed to finish off several late chances, giving Leipzig an all-important second consecutive win. The Scottish side remain last in Champions League Group F, while Leipzig are up to second, just one point ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk with Real Madrid in the lead.
The Red Bull club return to Bundesliga action at home against Hertha on Saturday before playing Hamburg in the second round of the DFB-Pokal next week.
