Nicolas Kuhn shines on a night of heroes | OneFootball

He was the UEFA Man of the Match, and, undoubtedly, Nicolas Kuhn was also the Celtic supporters’ Man of The Match, which in itself is no mean feat considering that every single starter and every single substitute in green and white during the magnificent 3-1 UEFA Champions League win over RB Leipzig absolutely played their hearts out.

However, it was the German winger who grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck with two breath-taking goals that overturned RB’s lead and took the limelight amid a Paradise pitch brimming with Celtic heroes who played with style, panache and dedication from the first minute to the 95th.

After the game the former Bundesliga Bhoy told Celtic TV when summing up the game: “I think we did an amazing job.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game against a good opponent, but it was even better to score against my former club.”

His equaliser in the 35th minute after the German title-chasers had taken the lead more than 10 minutes earlier was a thing of beauty as he cut in from the right before curling in a delightful left-foot shot that skimmed the post before nestling in the back of the net.

Then, a minute over normal time at the end of the first 45 saw a concerted never-give-up move from Celtic that simply bamboozled a top German defence, and Kuhn was in the right place at the right time on the edge of the six-yard box directly in front of goal to turn the ball home and raise the Paradise decibel level to deafening proportions.

The noise went into the red again and the needles bent once more in the 74th minute when Kuhn was replaced by Yang, with the double-scorer receiving a standing ovation from a packed Paradise.

He said: “It was unbelievable, it took me a while to realise, but that’s why we play.”

And that play, whether by the team as a unit or Kuhn as an individual just seems to keep on getting better and better with each passing game.

He said of the European progress in particular:  “We had a bad game away, but we learned our lesson and in the last two games we did much better.”

That’s putting it mildly – but we’ll take that.

Fixtures

Celtic Vs. RB Leipzig - Tue, Nov 5th 2024, 20:00 Final score: 3 - 1 Match Report