Celtic’s Champions League rivals make shock decision

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: The UEFA Champions League trophy during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final Leg One match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at City of Manchester Stadium on April 26, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 26: The UEFA Champions League trophy during the UEFA Champions League Semi Final Leg One match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at City of Manchester Stadium on April 26, 2022 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

While Celtic took many plaudits for a scintillating first half display against Real Madrid, when they could have easily been two or three goals up against the European champions, there were plenty of shocks for one of their Champions League group rivals.

Celtic fans are still getting to grips with the disappointing 0-3 defeat against Real Madrid, after making such a strong first half impression. There is a mix of pride, disappointment but also confidence for the future Champions League games to follow.

But that’s not the case for one of their group rivals. Over at RB Leipzig, there seems to be complete chaos. In the other Group F game last night, the German club suffered a 1-4 defeat at home against Shakhtar Donetsk. Not a result many saw coming. Former Celtic winger, Maryan Shved, made a great start for his new club, scoring twice on his debut.

That poor result on top of a difficult domestic start to the season has now led to the sacking of RB Leipzig manager, Domenico Tedesco, as announced by the club in a tweet. His assistant coach and former Celtic player, Andreas Hinkel, has also left.

Celtic recover from defeat vs Real Madrid while RB Leipzig make shock decision

It does seem a bit too early for RB Leipzig to part ways with Tedesco. He had done a wonderful job steadying the ship at the club last season and the Bundesliga season is also just five games in at this point.

Marco Rose is expected to be appointed swiftly as Tedesco’s replacement and it remains to be seen if RB Leipzig can bounce back under his management.

Now, if RB Leipzig do enjoy a new manager bounce, as many clubs are known to do, that might not be the best news for Celtic, who are scheduled to face them twice early next month.

RB Leipzig had been tipped for second place in the Group behind Real Madrid. While Celtic would have wanted to put that to the test anyway, the German club’s shock defeat against Shakhtar and the sacking of Tedesco has left things wide open.

We’ll see more of Shakhtar next week when the Hoops face them in Warsaw, a match which could have major implications on Group F.