According to captain Peter Gulacsi, Celtic’s Champions League rivals RB Leipzig are looking to stop their defensive frailties.
Marco Rose’s side have conceded a number of easy goals in multiple defeats in recent weeks, including a 3-0 loss to Rose’s former side Borussia Monchengladbach before the international break.
The veteran keeper was quick to assess his own role in Leipzig’s recent defensive horror shows, with Gulacsi guilty of a glaring error in the 4-1 home loss to Shakhtar Donetsk that led to the start of manager Domenico Tedesco.
As reported by RB Live (translated using DeepL Translate), Gulacsi said, “I’m the first to watch myself, analyze and reflect on my performance. I made a mistake against Donetsk – something like this had never happened to me before in my career and I hope it won’t happen again.
“It’s a team problem. If we don’t defend so stably as a team, it’s not easy as a goalkeeper. We need to be much more consistent and stable defensively as a team.
“We have to work with the eleven players against the ball. We have done a remarkable job in this second half of the season. We have to bring that back to the field.
Huge opportunity for Celtic against bruised Group F rivals
When the Champions League Group F draw was made, many assumed it would be a straight shootout between Celtic and Leipzig for second place and qualification for the last 16, with Real Madrid certain to s run away with 1st place.
While Los Blancos have played their part so far, Shakhtar’s unbeaten start tore up the script and left qualification for the knockout stages wide open for the rest of the group.
Next week’s first leg offers a huge opportunity for Celtic to put some light between them and their German opponents who are yet to score a single point in Group F.
Leipzig enter the weekend’s Bundesliga game with Bochum having won one of their last five games, against manager Marco Rose’s former club Dortmund, conceding at least two in all other matches.
Although they are still a team full of quality, Ange Postecoglou will see these two games against Rose’s side as a serious chance to kick off Celtic’s Champions League campaign after a credible point against Donetsk in Warsaw.
In other news: Matt O’Riley has already clarified his mindset and focus on the Celtic future
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