What German newspapers said about Celtic's performance against RB Leipzig

The German press have reacted to Celtic's defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig, unanimously agreeing that the Bundesliga side were deserved winners.

Celtic were comfortably beaten by RB Leipzig (Photo: Getty)

Rheinpfalz set the tone for the German media's opinion of Celtic, describing Rodgers' side as "nothing more than an average opponent."

Deutsche Welle, meanwhile claimed that the Scots were "overburdened with the games fast pace and emphasis on short passing play".

Spox: 'Kouassi flop of the match'

Celtic were comfortably beaten by RB Leipzig (Photo: Getty)

Until the first goal, however, Spox suggested that the game was evenly matched, citing an early Edouard miss as a turning point.

Journalist Stefan Petri said: "It took a blatant defensive mistake to give Leipzig the lead via Cunha, quickly followed by a second to make for a double strike. Celtic were then out of sorts and barely got away from their own penalty area and in truth Leipzig's lead could have been higher by the break.

"At the beginning of the second half Leipzig played forward and had further opportunities to put them 3-0 up: Gordon first prevented Kampl and Laimer, before Augustin was denied by the post.

"From there on RB were happy to slow the game down, while Celtic simply lacked the means to change the game. With five minutes left goalkeeper Mvogo had to make a save for the first time.

Petri reserved particular criticism for Eboue Kouassi, awarding him the title of 'flop of the match'.

He said: "the six was the preferred pressing target and made it so difficult for Celtic to organise their game going forward. He made a crucial mistake in the build up to the first goal and was arguably at fault for the second.

Sports.de: 'Celtic had nothing to offer'

Looking ahead to the pair's second meeting in a fortnight, Sports.de suggested that RB Leipzig would be feeling confident about picking up a result.

Their match report read: "In two weeks, on the 8th of November, the return leg will take place in Glasgow's Celtic Park.

"The 49-time Scottish champion certainly won't give up despite the disappointing performance. But In the first duel Celtic but had nothing to order and Leipzig confirmed their good form of recent weeks."

Kicker: 'Formation change swung the game'

Kicker ladled praise on RB Leipzig's manager Ralf Rangnick, claiming it was his tactical change that swung the game in the Saxons' favour.

They said: "A tactical change of Rangnick then brought the turn in favor of the home side: After about 20 minutes, the RBL coach of 4-2-2-2 on 4-3-3.

Bruma moved into a more central role, while Laimer occupied the number six role.

The move was immediately effective. From then on, only Leipzig was in the game, and had the guests, especially in the centre under control.