Celtic prepare to face RB Leipzig in Group F of Champions League
RB Leipzig earned their first Champions League points this season after a quickfire double from Andre Silva and Christopher Nkunku’s first-half strike sealed a 3-1 home win over Celtic.
Nkunku twice raced clear to find the net - his first attempt was ruled a fraction offside after a VAR check but the Frenchman made amends in the 27th minute, poking the ball past the advancing Joe Hart and slotting home from a tight angle.
The visitors got off to the perfect start in the second half, drawing level after two minutes when Furuhashi held off three Leipzig defenders before laying the ball off to Jota who scored with a composed finish.
Celtic got another reprieve from VAR when Dominik Szoboszlai’s superb long-range effort was ruled out just after the hour mark but Silva capitalised on a poor pass from goalkeeper Hart seconds later to restore Leipzig’s lead. Silva calmly fired past Hart again in the 77th minute after Celtic were undone by a long diagonal pass from Nkunku, which Mohamed Simakan met with a cushioned volley to the Portuguese striker.
Relive all the action as Celtic lose to RB Leipzig in the Champions League group stages:
GOAL! Man City 1-0 Copenhagen (Haaland, 7’)⚽️
7 mins: That man again! In what could possibly be his first touch of the game Erling Haaland gives Manchester City an early lead. Only seven minutes have been played but that goal has been coming.
Joao Cancelo bombs down the right side before sliding a square pass into the box. Haaland is wide open and he curls his effort into the near bottom corner.
Man City 0-0 Copenhagen
6 mins: Alvarez looks to pick out Erling Haaland but a block from David Khocholava knocks the ball down to Joao Cancelo. He drills an effort towards goal but it’s heading wide.
Haaland sticks out a leg to try and guide it back on target but there’s too much pace on the shot and the big forward misses it.
Man City 0-0 Copenhagen
3 mins: Joao Cancelo and Julian Alvarez combine on the right side to get into space wide of the penalty area. Alvarez sends in a cross and wins a corner when the ball is deflected out of play.
The corner is sent into the box but the visitors manage to get it clear.
Kick off: Man City 0-0 Copenhagen
FC Copenhagen get the game started and boot the ball over to the right side before it’s knocked softly into the box for Ederson to claim.
Man City then attempt to play out from the back and Copenhagen immediately drop back.
Man City vs Copenhagen
Here come the teams.
Man City have two wins from their opening two games and on paper look set to extend that this evening. Erling Haaland starts again after his hat-trick heroics in the Manchester derby but Phil Foden is given a rest for tonight’s match.
Man City vs Copenhagen
Kick off is just 10 minutes away at the Etihad Stadium so here’s a reminder of how the two teams line-up tonight:
Man City XI: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Gomez, Gundogan, Bernardo, Mahrez, Haaland, Alvarez, Grealish
Copenhagen XI: Grabara, Diks, Vavro, SKocholava, Kristiansen, Stamenic, Lerager, Johannesson, Claesson, Daramy, Karamoko
FT RB Leipzig 1-1 Celtic
Celtic are now down to fourth in Group F with one point from three games. Their Champions League campaign will come down to the return leg against RB Leipzig next week.
If the lose that there’s not chance of qualifying but if they win they’ll still have hope of reaching the knockouts.
Reaction and report to come from Celtic’s defeat but the focus now moves over to Manchester where Pep Guardiola’s men are preparing to host FC Copenhagen.
Full-time: RB Leipzig 3-1 Celtic
90+5 mins: A valiant first half performance from Celtic made it seem as though they could take something out of this clash in Germany and those feelings were backed up when Jota equalised immediately after the restart.
However, RB Leipzig stepped up the tempo and quality from that point on and are deserved winners. They’ve put three past the Hoops and have had two more goals disallowed.
Celtic’s problem is their defence, they’re too open too often and that doesn’t win you games in the Champions League. Ange Postecoglou’s men are still searching for their first win of this campaign.
RB Leipzig 3-1 Celtic
90 mins: Five minutes of added time to play in Germany. Celtic are dropping to fourth in the group with Leipzig getting themselves back into the mix.
Real Madrid face Shakhtar Donetsk later on and both these teams will be hoping Madrid win that one.
RB Leipzig 3-1 Celtic
87 mins: Leipzig are controlling this game nicely now. Celtic look tired and resigned to defeat. The home side a passing it around quite comfortably.
