Celtic player ratings: Joe Hart’s error caps off disappointing night for Hoops in Leipzig defeat

Celtic face an uphill battle to progress from their Champions League group after RB Leipzig eventually overcame the visitors in a fragmented contest at the sold out Red Bull Arena.

Christopher Nkunku had fired the Bundesliga side ahead from a tight angle after 27 minutes before Jota’s second half equaliser hauled the Scottish champions back on level terms.

Goalkeeper Joe Hart then gave the ball straight to Dominik Szoboszlai, who picked out team mate Andre Silva to guide into the far corner and the Portuguese international rounded off a terrific move to ensure the Germans leapfrogged Celtic into third spot in Group F.

Despite a valiant effort from Ange Postecoglou’s side, the Hoops must now dust themselves down quickly to prepare for a re-match against Leipzig in Glasgow next week.

The home side were good value for their two-goal winning margin, with Chelsea-linked star Nkunku denied a second goal by VAR for offside. Hungarian Szoboszlai also struck the post before seeing his curling shot ruled out after the referee reviewed footage of Silva blocking Hart’s view from an offside position.

Celtic created chances of their own but were not clinical enough when require and an injury to captain Callum McGregor in the first half proved a real setback.

Ultimately it was a similar story to the loss sustained by Real Madrid and the draw with Shakhtar Donetsk, with mistakes at key moments punished ruthlessly.

Here are GlasgowWorld’s player ratings...

JOE HART - 5 - alert to the danger as leipzig found themselves in behind the celtic defence and made a couple of smart saves. could do little to prevent the Germans first and third goals. Shocking pass gifted Silva a simple finish late on.

JOSIP JURANOVIC - 6 - bumbed up and down the right flank as often as possible and sent across a few dangerous deliveries from deep. Commanded his area of the pitch well.

STEPHEN WELSH - 6 - Making his Champions League debut, the youngster can be satisfied with his performance. Sloppy in possession early on but grew into the game and used the ball well.

MORITZ JENZ - 4 - Poor. Never looked comfortable up against Nkunku and couldn’t cope with the Frenchman’s electric turn of pace. Made a couple of clumsy challenges.

GREG TAYLOR - 6 - Early corner fell kindly to the full-back but couldn’t beat the goalkeeper from wide on the right-hand side of the box. Superb block to deny Szoboszlai towards the end of the first half.

CALLUM McGREGOR - 4 - Heavy touch led to Leipzig’s quickfire opener and despite best attempt to recover, Nkunku ruthlessly punished the skipper with a well-taken finish. Brought off moments later after picking up a rare injury.

MATT O’RILEY - 5 - One of his uncharacteristically poor nights in a Hoops jersey. Struggled to get on the ball in key areas before being subbed with 15 minutes left to play.

REO HATATE - 7 - Continues to impress on this elite stage. Worked tirelessly. Quick pass to release Kyogo through on goal in the build up to the leveller before tiring in the closing stages.

JOTA - 6 - Relativey quiet by his standards during the first-half before popping up with the equaliser shortly after the break. Kept his composure to stroke the ball across the face of goal into the bottom corner.

DAIZEN MAEDA - 5 - Brilliant delivery for Kyogo midway through the first half but influence faded as the match wore on. Often let down by his first touch.

KYOGO FURUHASHI - 7 - Looked lively from the outset and tested sub goalkeeper Blaswich with a powerful goal-bound header. Drew another impressive stop from the Leipzig stopper a few minutes later when played through one on one. Terrific assist for Jota.

Substitutes:

OLIVER ABILDGAARD - 4 - Replaced the injured McGregor after 37 mins to make his debut. Tidy enough in possession but lacked a match sharpness.

JAMES FORREST - 3 - Tried to stretch the game as best he could after replacing the ineffective Maeda.

SEAD HAKSABANOVIC - 3 - On for O’Riley but didn’t have enough time to cause Leipzig problems.

GIORGOS GIAKOUMAKIS - 4 - Added a physical presence up front but conceded several clumsy free-kick.

JAMES McCARTHY - 2 - Brought on for Hatate after 82 mins but didn’t have much impact.

Not Used:

Scott Bain (GK), Benjamin Siegrist (GK), Alexandro Bernabei, Anthony Ralston, Scott Robertson

RB Leipzig:

Péter Gulácsi 2 (Janis Blaswich 7), Mohamed Simakan 7, Willi Orban 7, Joško Gvardiol 7, David Raum 6 (Marcel Halstenberg 3), Xaver Schlager 6, Kevin Kampl 7 (Amadou Haidara 5), Dominik Szoboszlai 8 (Yussuf Poulsen 4), André Silva 9, Christopher Nkunku 9, Timo Werner 7 (Emil Forsberg 6)

Abdou Diallo, Hugo Novoa, Benjamin Henrichs