Celtic showed a refreshingly different side to their personality against Atalanta last time out. Before that match, fans might have offered prayers in the hope that the damage inflicted was modest.
What they got was a disciplined performance, a tremendous defensive effort that relied on the excellent goalkeeping of Kasper Schmeichel. At times they took advantage of their luck and were grateful for some missed shots from the Italians, but what they delivered was pragmatic and mature.
Rodgers said he would never stray from his beliefs as a coach, but he changed slightly in Italy and the team was much better for it. The naivety and vulnerability of Dortmund’s 7-1 scoreline had disappeared. Instead, there was realism, concentration and hunger to stay in the fight.
More of the same then. Another draw would be a good result. That would take Celtic to five points with very winnable home games against Brugge (26th in the table) and Young Boys (35th of 36) to come.
One point against Leipzig and six against the other two, and Celtic are left without a home and in the play-offs.
However, from Leipzig’s perspective, this is undoubtedly a must-win. They have no points after a brutal run of games and after Celtic they have Inter, who are seventh, Aston Villa, who are leaders, and Sporting, who are eighth. After that, they will have some time against Sturm Graz, but three points could be useless at this point.
They will not lack class and they will not lack desperation either. As a club, they are an extraordinary group. In the last six years they have achieved more than 500 million in income just from trading players. Celtic have a good record on that front, but Leipzig are in a league of their own.
Naby Keita to Liverpool, Timo Werner to Chelsea, Dayot Upamecano to Bayern Munich, Christopher Nkunku to Chelsea, Dominik Szoboszlai to Liverpool, Josko Gvardiol to Manchester City, Dani Olmo to Barcelona. They have done 15 different deals ranging from £10m to almost £80m. The Leipzig boxes ring incessantly.
They may currently be sitting pointless and 11 places below Celtic in the Champions League table, but the nuance comes with the knowledge that it was Atlético Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool who lost, all by one single goal
They are second in the Bundesliga and, until the weekend when they lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund, had an all-time club record run of 19 unbeaten games in the league. No one at Celtic will need to be told about Leipzig’s clear and present danger.
What Celtic does in the face of that danger is the most convincing.
