RB Leipzig star Kevin Kampl reckoned Celtic pressed them into submission so strongly it felt like he had just run a marathon, after their Champions League defeat.
Celtic produced one of their best-ever European performances to demolish the side who sit in second place in the Bundesliga on a famous night at Parkhead. They recovered from going a goal down to sweep Marco Rose’s team away in a blistering comeback that stunned the Germans. And magnanimous Slovenian international midfielder Kampl held his hands up and admitted they had no answer at all to Celtic’s relentless display.
He said: “We tried to press Celtic high up the park, but they always had an answer to us. 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.”
And Leipzig striker Christoph Baumgartner also had no complaints about the outcome. He said: “After they equalised, Celtic were definitely the better team. Many of their big chances were our own fault, especially the equaliser, when we allowed Nicolas Kuhn to go on his left foot and shoot. Celtic were well organised and and put us in trouble when we played it out from the back.
“We were missing something against Celtic and against Borussia Dortmund. Everyone needs to look in the mirror and ask themselves whether that was enough.”