Detailed Celtic player ratings as quality finishing proves crucial amid Joe Hart howler and Callum McGregor injury

Joe Hart: The Celtic goalkeeper appeared to put the spectre of the miscommunication against Motherwell behind him with a solid enough first-half showing against RB Leipzig. He reacted well to cling on after just a minute and a half when a fortunate bounce of the ball thwarted the hosts’ breakaway while he claimed a decent low cross after a quarter-hour and made an impressive spread save from Timo Werner before the break. That last one was, admittedly, ruled offside in any case as was the superb Christopher Nkunku dinked finish that left Hart prone in his box. The same man rounded him during the breakaway opener while the second half was one to forget for the vice-captain. He was beaten by Dominik Szoboszlai after an intricate and incisive Leipzig move but saved by his post before the Hungarian got the better of him with a rasping right-footed drive in the 61st minute. The reprieve on that one came via VAR but the Englishman essentially reciprocated seconds later with a poor pass out intercepted by Dominik Szoboszlai and Andre Silva putting it in. He actually made a couple of impressive saves after his howler, while his quick reactions also stopped a potential three-on-one in Leipzig’s favour in the final quarter-hour and he was well beaten with Silva’s second. 5

Josip Juranovic: Like Hart, the Well incident could have hung over Juranovic’s head given it was his name next to the mortifying “o.g.” on the stat sheet. It did not seem to affect him, though, as he shrugged it off with his trademark confidence. From the outset the Croatian could reasonably have been expected to have to deal with a David Raum/Werner double team but the latter’s propensity to wander all over the park meant it was more often than not the progressive runs of the former he had to watch. That he did well in the main – without proving much of an attacking threat – although in the passage of play for the opener he was both outmuscled and outpaced by Nkunku. 6

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Stephen Welsh: Whether your prevailing feelings on Welsh veered towards ‘not up to it’ or ‘give the lad time’ this match is unlikely to have swayed you in the opposite direction. Leipzig centre forward Andre Silva has never quite managed to hit the heights he did at Eintracht Frankfurt since rocking up in Saxony a couple seasons ago – and indeed was scoreless in the Bundesliga and Champions League ahead of this one, with his only two goals coming against fourth-tier Teutonia Ottensen in the cup – but he is still a handful. Welsh did find it difficult at times but the perhaps more-central-than-expected threat of Nkunku – not to mention Werner the wanderer – provided a sterner examination in concentration for both him and partner Jenz. His distribution seemed slightly on the safe side, save for a couple of balls to Juranovic in advanced positions, but to be fair to the young Scot that could be levied at a few of his team-mates as well. 6

Moritz Jenz: Without being under as much scrutiny as his central-defensive partner, Jenz has still had his decriers in his short Parkhead career to date. He found it tough going at times in his homeland it must be said, with worrying moments of ill-composure leading to turnovers in potentially dangerous areas in the first half in particular. He could have given the officials a decision to make with his unnecessarily cheeky dig into Silva’s back just before half-time; an act likely borne of frustration at his own display but certainly not the way to go about dissuading a lack of physicality as a criticism. After the break he settled a bit more but – a couple of useful clearances aside – still never quite cut a comfortable figure whether in passing or defensively. 5

Greg Taylor: A very difficult evening seemed to be in store for the Scotland international with the aggressive Leipzig counter-attack looking to exploit any space left at the back and in midfield. He was sold short by Jenz in the early stages, too, in what could have been a dent to the confidence but put it behind him quickly to enjoy a decent outing. Taylor linked well in possession as one point of a triangle with McGregor and Hatate that helped the Hoops get up the pitch somewhat in the first half while he even popped up in the Leipzig box in the aftermath of a set-piece that led to him stinging the hands of sub keeper Janis Blaswich. Defensively, he dealt well with Leipzig breakaways on a couple of occasions with good marshalling of Mohamed Simakan as well as a timely block on Dominik Szoboszlai. The one time he did let Simakan stay on the wrong side of him - with Jota's role in tracking also questionable - he was picked out by a sumptuous Nkunku lofted ball and cushioned it into Silva’s path for the third. Overall, though, a decent display. 6

Callum McGregor: The captain’s forward intent was there with his first pass – unsuccessful though it was the idea of sending Daizen Maeda running through on goal was a good one. His composure is always going to be key on the Champions League stage and it was again here for the most part, with the dishonourable exception of his heavy touch in the passage of counter-attacking play that led to Nkunku’s opener. He went down injured just before the half-hour mark and, although he struggled on for almost a further 10 minutes, he succumbed on 38 minutes and made way for Oliver Abildgaard. 5

Reo Hatate: After a tour de force display against Motherwell – hospital pass aside, obviously – the Japan midfielder tried to assert himself on this one by taking up useful positions in the Leipzig half. He snatched at a potential 11th-minute chance after the hosts’ keeper Peter Gulacsi’s poor clearance had fallen to him via Jota’s heavy touch but, conversely, was alive to the situation around him in the 48th minute to slide a quick through ball into Kyogo in the build-up to Jota’s leveller. 6

Matt O’Riley: Coming off a relatively poor display against Motherwell – by his own high standards – it seemed at the start a bit of uncharacteristic dilly-dallying might mean more of the same. However, this was an evening where it was his off-ball industry rather than his on-ball quality that came to the fore. The occasions when both facets click the Dane is virtually unplayable – but even on a quiet offensive night O’Riley co-ordinated the Celtic press in the Leipzig defensive third well. 6

Daizen Maeda: A busy first half that did not see Maeda as involved as either he or Postecoglou would’ve liked stretched into a second half. The Japan international was nonetheless O’Riley’s chief lieutenant in the Celtic press and put in a good, pacey cross for Kyogo’s best headed chance but all told it was a quiet evening. 5

Kyogo Furuhashi: Generally it’s not a good sign when the bulk of Kyogo’s attempts are headers – as was the case here. That said, he seemed to enjoy the space he was afforded in comparison to domestic matches, charging down goalkeepers (plural) at any given chance. Those headed attempts were not bad on occasion – a superb 24th minute header after running across Willi Orban forced a big save from Blaswich for instance. He did get a chance with his feet just a minute or so later when the ball fell to him again around 16 yards out amid an epoch of Celtic pressure but he waited a fraction of a second too long for the ball to drop to an acceptable height and his attempt was deflected wide. He waited exactly the right amount of time to slide in Jota for the equaliser though, getting Celtic back on an even keel with his unselfish play right after half-time. Before his withdrawal with eight minutes left the match had somewhat passed him by for a spell as Leipzig dialled up the pressure. 7

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Jota: Robbing Kevin Kampl in the seventh minute – although it did not result in a threatening shot – meant it registered with Leipzig that the winger was switched on. Unfortunately for the 23-year-old the rest of the opening half played out with him as part of the chorus rather than a leading man in a rather quiet outing. That changed immediately after the break with industrious work off the ball to surge up-field in support of Kyogo and then excellent composure to slot home left-footed into the far corner. The rest of his game was played out in fits and starts given a lot of the play took place in the Celtic half but he did seem lively and the man in black and green most likely to conjure something whenever the ball reached him. 7

Substitutes

Oliver Abildgaard (for McGregor 38): The Dane was given a ‘proper’ debut after his less-than-five-minute cameo against Motherwell at the weekend. Early signs of his skillset appear good, with numerous interceptions and a fair go at showing for the ball as often as he could, even if it is in a different manner to McGregor. That said, he faded as the match wore on and Celtic lost what control they had of the midfield as a result. 6

Sead Haksabanovic (for O’Riley 75): A stint in the attacking midfield/forward area for the final 15 but couldn’t quite make a mark on proceedings.

James Forrest (for Maeda 75): Veteran made his first appearance since the Ross County match in August.

James McCarthy (for Hatate 82): Played a nice through pass to Taylor in the 84th minute.

Giorgos Giakoumakis (for Kyogo 82):

Subs not used: Scott Bain, Benjamin Siegrist, Anthony Ralston, Alexandro Bernabei, Scott Robertson.