RB Leipzig star Kevin Kampl was blown away by Celtic last night, admitting the Hoops had him and his teammates feeling like they were running a marathon all game.
Brendan Rodgers’ men were relentless in the statement victory, putting on an epic showing of dominance against an elite European team.
Although Christoph Baumgartner gave Leipzig an early lead, the Bhoys stayed calm and found a route back into the game thanks to a quick-fire double from the electric Nicolas Kuhn.
Reo Hatate put the Celts in the comfort zone with 18 to play, but throughout the 90 minutes, Leipzig were given no breathing space.
Indeed, star midfielder Kampl, who has previously played for Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen, confessed post-match that he and his teammates were blown away by an unrelenting Celtic team: “We tried to press Celtic high up the park, but they always had an answer to us,” he said (RecordSport).
“They didn’t allow themselves to be dispossessed and kept the ball. We were always a step too late against them and we had to run all night. It actually felt like we were continuously running all game like we were in a marathon.
“There was nothing more we could do about it in the second half. We have to be honest about it.
“It took us five minutes or so to deal with the atmosphere and I thought we had it under control until they equalised. The double blow before half time brought us back to earth and then of course, the atmosphere came back.
“Celtic didn’t panic when they were behind. I have to say I was very impressed by them.”
Last night’s result sent shockwaves across Europe. Celtic are returning to being the elite force they were under Martin O’Neill and Neil Lennon on the continent.
It says a lot that Kampl was taken aback by the Bhoys’ performance, which perhaps surprised some supporters, too.
Barring a brief first-half spell, Celtic dominated proceedings and imposed their style on the game from the off. 3-1 was a fair reflection of proceedings, and it really could have been more.
Things are looking up for the Hoops in the Champions League.
