Celtic showed a refreshingly different side to their personality away to Atalanta last time out. Before that game, fans might have been minded to offer up prayers in the hope that the damage inflicted on them would be modest.
What they got was a disciplined performance, a terrific defensive effort which had its foundations in excellent goalkeeping from Kasper Schmeichel. They rode their luck at times and were thankful for some errant finishing from the Italians, but what they delivered was pragmatic and mature.
Rodgers said he would never move away from his coaching beliefs, but he shifted slightly in Italy and the team was much better for it. The naivety and vulnerability of the 7-1 in Dortmund had gone. Instead, there was realism, concentration and a hunger to stay in the fight.
More of the same, then. Another draw would be a good outcome. That would take Celtic to five points with very winnable home games against Bruges – 26th in the table – and Young Boys – 35th of 36 – to come.
A point against Leipzig and six against the other two, and Celtic are home-free and in the play-offs.
From Leipzig’s perspective, however, this is surely a must-win. They have zero points after a brutal run of games and after Celtic they have Inter, who are sitting seventh, Aston Villa, who are top, and Sporting, who are eighth. After that they have a gimme against Sturm Graz, but three points might be useless at that stage.
They won’t lack class and they won’t lack desperation, either. As a club, they are an extraordinary outfit. In the last six years they have bought in more than a half a billion in revenues from player trading alone. Celtic have a fine track 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 Man City, Dani Olmo to Barcelona. They’ve done 15 different deals ranging from £10m to nearly £80m. The Leipzig tills have been ringing relentlessly.
They might currently be sitting pointless and 11 places below Celtic in the Champions League table, but the nuance comes with the knowledge that it was Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool they lost to, all by a single goal.
They’re second in the Bundesliga and, until the weekend when they lost 2-1 to Borussia Dortmund, they were on an all-time club record run of 19 games unbeaten in the league. Nobody at Celtic will need any telling about Leipzig’s clear and present danger.
What Celtic do in the face of that danger is the compelling bit.
