'Embarrassed by a no-name' - how the German press reacted to Celtic's victory over RB Leipzig

Celtic claimed their best Champions League result in recent years with a 3-1 victory over German Bundesliga title hopefuls RB Leipzig at an electrified Parkhead on Tuesday.

The Scottish champions produced a high-octane performance to match the highly-charged atmosphere inside the stadium as Brendan Rodgers' side came from behind to seal three points courtesy of a Nicolas Kuhn double and a Reo Hatate strike. The victory moved Celtic onto seven points at the halfway stage of the newly-revamped Champions League to sit in a lofty 13th position in the 36-team table while Leipzig are down in 31st with zero points after a fourth straight defeat.

While the focus in Scotland has been on the brilliance of Celtic, over in Germany, the media have taken a rather dim view of the Leipzig display against a side who were thrashed 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund five weeks ago. In their report on the match, Germany's largest newspaper Bild said Leipzig "was embarrassed by a German no-name professional - who, of all people, was trained in RB's youth team," in reference to Celtic hero Kuhn.

Nicolas Kuhn scored twice for Celtic in the 3-1 win over RB Leipzig in the Champions League. | SNS Group

Writing more about Kuhn's background, the report continued: "In 2020, when he had already left Leipzig, Kuhn won the Fritz Walter Medal in gold (award for the best German young player) and was considered a future DFB star. Interesting: The winger was discarded by the then RB sporting director Ralf Rangnick. He was of the opinion that Kühn's game did not suit Leipzig's pressing style of football. Kühn came to Celtic via Ajax II, Bayern II, Aue and Rapid Vienna. His record with the Scottish champions: 25 goals in 34 games - (still) a no-name in Germany, a celebrated hero in Glasgow.

A seperate report in Bild tipped the 24-year-old winger to now push for a first call-up to the German national team. "After his Champions League gala, Kuhn can even dream of playing for the national team," it stated. "He is no stranger to the DFB! He played for all the junior national teams from the U15 to the U20 until his career stalled. Now Kuhn is starting anew."

Bild also described the hostile reception the Leipzig players received upon arrival at Celtic Park: "The RB Leipzig players got a taste of the Champions League match in Glasgow when the bus arrived in front of the stadium. The loud Celtic fans shouted 'Welcome to hell' to them. And the evening really did turn out to be a hellish trip for the Bundesliga team..."

Despondent RB Leipzig players at full-time after the 3-1 defeat at Celtic Park. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group

The victory earned Celtic an additional €2.1million in prize money to take their total Champions League earnings thus far minus gate receipts to €22.8m with an €11m bounty on offer for qualification to the last 16. Bild pointed to financial implication's of Leipzig's defeat to Celtic: "The bloodless 1:3 in Glasgow was the fourth Champions League defeat in four games . Leipzig is ranked 31st out of 36 in the XXL table, could slip even further on Wednesday and (almost) avoid the knockout round. An early exit would be expensive...

"The new Champions League mode offers even more bonuses: there is 11 million euros for reaching the round of 16. There are also new placement bonuses, with one million for places 9 to 16. RB has had the chance to win in all four games so far and has collected 2.1 million in prize money each time. The bottom line is that Leipzig is carelessly throwing away around 20 million! Theoretically, three wins are needed in the remaining four games. Next up is Inter Milan, then Aston Villa, then Sporting Lisbon, and finally Sturm Graz. Three of RB Leipzig ’s four opponents are currently among the top eight in the table.”

There was also criticism of the Leipzig performance, referencing a quote from coach Marco Rose before the game where he said: “Celtic is a strong team with very predictable processes.” The report added: “But it was apparently not that easy to see through after all... After the 1:2 defeat in Dortmund, Leipzig disappointed in the second top game in a row. Worrying: Not only the results in the top games do not reflect the squad, but also the performance. There is not much left of the former attacking and hurrah football. Against Celtic, there was a lack of conviction, dominance and game activity. The pressing was ineffective, especially in the second half."