Nicolas Kuhn picks his ideal Celtic Champions League playoff opponent as he says Hoops have taken respect back

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Nicolas Kuhn has been among Celtic’s Champions League standouts this season.

The winger will always be remembered for his stunning brace vs RB Leipzig as man of the match when the Hoops beat the Germans 3-1 while he has provided significant moments in other matches, too.

Celts beat Young Boys 1-0 on Wednesday evening to nail down a knockout playoff spot and manager Brendan Rodgers was even asked about a top eight position which, while unlikely, is still mathematically possible.

For Kuhn it has been a memorable experience this year in the newly revamped League Phase and the next tie after Aston Villa on matchday eight will bring its own new challenges.

• READ MORE: Nicolas Kuhn reacts to Jota Celtic transfer return and Kyogo exit, what it means for squad

Kuhn has chosen which Champions League opponent would ‘excite’ him at Celtic

No matter who Celtic are drawn against it is sure to be a difficult pathway into the next round.

But there are some massive European heavyweights who realistically wait in the wings for the draw to be made and the Scottish Premiership leaders to come out the hat.

It’s a familiar club Kuhn would be pleased to see his side drawn against in Bayern Munich.

The German international hopeful spent two years with the Bundesliga giants after leaving Ajax in 2020 and he would love a crack at his former club if given the chance.

He also feels recent performances and results in the competition has silenced some doubters and earned Celtic their respect back.

Kuhn says Celtic have gained respect in Europe

“Yeah of course it would be exciting,” Kuhn said when asked about Bayern.

“There are a lot of great teams we could face.

“I think we have seen so far during this league phase just how quickly things can change.

“Dortmund I think were up in fifth place at one point the other night and then they conceded two goals, and suddenly they were down in 14th.

“So, it can change a lot, but we will see what is going to happen and we will take whatever comes.

“We had a pretty good start, but then we had the Dortmund game, which showed we had a lot that we had to work on.

“Over the next five games we earned a lot of points, so I think we deserved to go through.

“I think it was important to get the respect back. That was just a really perfect day for Dortmund I think, and a bad one for us.

“We kept going, and we came through and showed what we can really do at this level.

“The Atalanta game was huge. It was an amazing game for us to play against a team like them, who are known for scoring a lot of goals at the top level and being aggressive in one-on-ones, and to do such a good job and keep a clean sheet.”