Celtic have the chance to push further up the Champions League table ahead of their clash against RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.
Parkhead will be expectant, mainly because of Celtic’s performance against Atalanta last time out and the fact that they are facing a team yet to pick up a point.
RB Leipzig lost in the league at the weekend for the first time and have also lost all three Champions League matches, despite sitting in Pot 1 when the tournament started.
On that hand, this is a great chance for Brendan Rodgers and his players to inflict more misery on the German club.
But on the other, Leipzig are probably due some luck and a win, with Celtic fans hoping it doesn’t come at their cost because the mood is high, at this moment in time.
Celtic smashed Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-final over the weekend, with several players putting on a show and now some of them have been lauded by RB Leipzig’s official website.
RB Leipzig lauds four Celtic players, Kasper Schmeichel, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Nicolas Kuhn and Kyogo Furuhashi
One of the most important players for the Bhoys this season, both in Europe and on the domestic circuit, has been Daizen Maeda.
But Leipzig’s official site didn’t name the Japan star when picking out four Celtic players, despite Maeda’s hat-trick against Aberdeen from the weekend.
Instead, experienced goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was dubbed ‘commanding’, Cameron Carter-Vickers was praised for being ‘calm under pressure’, Nicolas Kuhn was lauded for his ‘creativity’ and Kyogo Furuhashi’s ‘clinical’ nature was highlighted.
This is what RB Leipzig wrote…
Kasper Schmeichel (goalkeeper)
Commanding in his penalty box, leadership qualities, renowned for his reflexes and point-blank saves
Cameron Carter-Vickers (defender & captain)
Calm under pressure, good positional awareness, quick and agile centre-half
Nicolas Kühn (midfielder)
Known for his creativity on the ball, enjoys finding decisive passes, great reading of the game
Kyogo Furuhashi (striker)
Clinical finisher, finishes as well with his head as his feet, known for his composure in front of goal
Daizen Maeda is another dangerous Celtic player RB Leipzig have to watch out for
One of the most popular players at Parkhead is Maeda and his non-stop action makes him a manager’s dream and an opposition’s nightmare.
When, as an attacking player, you are averaging 1.3 tackles per game in the Champions League, then you know what type of evening you are in for.
Added to that, Maeda has now found his shooting boots and has scored nine goals in all competitions.
WhoScored have rated his season in Green and White colours so far at 6.80.
| Tournament | Apps | Goals | Assists | Tackles | SpG | PS% | Key passes | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premiership | 7(2) | 2 | 2 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 83.6 | 1.1 | 6.87 |
| Champions League | 3 | 2 | – | 1.3 | 2 | 82.2 | 0.7 | 6.60 |
| League Cup | 2 | 5 | N/A | – | N/A | N/A | N/A | – |
| Asian Cup Japan | 1 | – | N/A | – | N/A | N/A | N/A | – |
| Total / Average | 15 | 9 | 2 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 83.3 | 0.4 | 6.80 |
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
