O’RILEY: WE CAN TAME THE RED BULL
Sead proud to be on biggest stage RB LEIPZIG v CELTIC LOOKS LEIP’ NKUNKU HAS BHOYS IN SIGHT
MATT O’RILEY believes Celtic can grab a cherished first Champions League win under Ange Postecoglou if they can tidy up a few loose ends in Leipzig.
The Parkhead side are heading to Germany in search of their first Group F success tomorrow night when they tackle Red Bull.
O’Riley and his teammates returned from their last trip to Poland three weeks ago against Shakhtar Donetsk frustrated their impressive display yielded just one and not three points.
Having also given Real Madrid a fight for over the contest on night one, the Dane is convinced repeat showings can earn them the right result in Leipzig.
O’Riley said: “If we perform to the levels we did against Shakhtar, we’d be confident of coming away with another positive result.
“We know they are a good side, but we are also a very good side. So if we are on it then, yes, we’ve got a great chance of winning the game.
“Regardless of who we play against, we always feel that we can come away with a positive result.
Hint
“It said a lot that there was a hint of disappointment that we didn’t come away with the three points in Poland.
“You can be the better team in a match and still not win. That was an example of that.
“Even against Real, for the first however many minutes, we were in my opinion the more threatening team.
Due to them being a bit more clinical than us, that separated the two sides. But, if we can just tidy up on a few things, we’ve got every chance.”
Postecoglou’s team will again be positive with the manager determined that his team keep playing their way and trying to impart their style of game onto club football’s biggest stage.
Defender Greg Taylor insists there is no reason to change and said: “I think that’s the manager’s motto that we don’t change for anyone. We want to play our way of football. It’s a way we are coached, the way we learn, the way we all want to play in.
“So it would defeat the purpose if we go and go and change that when it comes to the biggest moments and there is no bigger than Champions League.
“It’s the biggest competition in the world, so when the game comes, we’ll be ready to do that again.”
SEAD HAKSABANOVIC used to run around as a kid pretending to be Ronaldinho in the Champions League.
Now the Celtic star is savouring the big time for real as part of the Parkhead Euro bid.
Haksabanovic could make a third Group F appearance tomorrow night against RB Leipzig having featured as a sub in the opener against Real Madrid and made the starting line-up for the draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Montenegrin international said: “It’s a dream to play in the Champions League.
Friends
“When I was playing football as a kid, I watched the Champions League.
“When I was running around playing with my friends, I would be screaming about being in the Champions League.
“Who was I pretending to be back then? Ronaldinho, maybe.
“It’s just amazing and my friends are really happy for me as well. It’s the biggest stage. It’s where everyone wants to get to.”
Haksabanovic was well versed in the traditions of Celtic even before he signed just before the close of the transfer window.
Born in Sweden, the attacker is friends with Henrik Larsson’s son Jordan and recalls the success enjoyed by his dad and the likes of his countrymen Johan Mjallby and Mikael Lustig.
Son
Haksabanovic said: “I looked up to these guys a lot. Henrik’s son is my good friend. So I know a lot about what his dad has done here.
“I have seen clips of it, so I am just going to do my best and see if I can achieve just 10 per cent of what he did.”
Haksabanovic’s links to Parkhead just keep coming. He comes from the same part of Sweden as Freddie Ljungberg, who had a spell at Parkhead almost a dozen years ago.
He said: “I am from a small town, but there have been many players from
CHRISTOPHER NKUNKU has Celtic next in his sights as he sits on Chelsea’s radar.
And former Stamford Bridge star Timo Werner is also back in form ahead of the visit of Ange Postecoglou’s team after becoming a century breaker.
Nkunku has made a blistering start to the campaign with eight goals already as the 24-year-old maintains his rapid career ascent.
The hitman is wanted by the Londoners with reports suggesting a medical test has already taken place and there who have been big in Sweden and in England. Freddie Ljungberg is from the same place as me. He is a hero of mine.”
Haksabanovic’s hard work has now paid off as he beds into Parkhead for the domestic challenges and rubs shoulders with the elite of Europe.
Loan
Havingshone for Halmstads in his homeland, he was snapped as a promising teenager up by West Ham United.
But the move didn’t work out and loan moves to Malaga and Norrkoping followed before a permanent return to the country of his birth and onto Russia with Rubin Kazan.
Now he’s settling in Glasgow and he added: “I love to play football, I love to make money for my family and to help them. If I had one leg on which to play football I would still do it.” a transfer deal is in place.
French ace Nkunku, who came through the PSG system, is aiming for the very top of the game.
He said: “When you play in one of the top-five clubs in the world, the chance of winning the Champions League obviously increases, and with the title the chances of winning the Ballon d’Or always increase.”
Leipzig are set to lose their star turn in January, but the fact they fought to keep him in the summer meant a lot to Nkunku.
He added: “It was the first time in my career that my club has told me I’m too important to leave. That is an indescribably good feeling. This trust makes me stronger.”
Regain
While Nkunku could be heading down the King’s Road, Werner has not long left and is starting to regain his belief after a tough spell in London.
Having scored 99 goals in four years with Leipzig, the striker’s switch to Chelsea did not go to plan and he was sold back for a fraction of the buying price in the summer.
Werner (26) was five without a goal but broke the barrier with goals 100 and 101 in his Leipzig career in the win over Bochum to tune up for Celtic.
Teammate Marcel Halstenberg, who set up the century goal, said: “Timo was away for two years and we’ve developed as a team.
“In addition, the expectations on the boy doesn’t make it any easier. Timo just has to get used to it a bit, then the self-confidence will increase.”