Celtic left with mountain to climb after André Silva’s rapid double for Leipzig

The pride and optimism that filled Celtic ahead of this season’s return to the Champions League is quickly giving way to a harsher, colder reality.

Defeat in Leipzig leaves them with one point from three games, and means they will probably have to get something away at Real Madrid to qualify from Group F. Which is not impossible, of course. But with every step they are learning some stern lessons and here it was the turn of a skittish but improving Leipzig side to dish them out.

It could have been a proper thrashing. Leipzig had two goals disallowed, created numerous overlaps and openings, ran through a flimsy Celtic defence that was in turn severely exposed by its midfield and let down by its goalkeeper, Joe Hart. Ange Postecoglou will be able to point to injuries, and perhaps even a certain inexperience at this level, but he will also know deep down that Celtic are much further from the European elite than many of their fans like to imagine.

André Silva got the two decisive goals in a merciless 13-minute burst that left Celtic gasping for air. It was a wild, bruising, and richly entertaining game, with a looseness that at times bordered on chaos and a frenetic pace punctuated only by the numerous injury-enforced breaks in play. The Leipzig goalkeeper, Peter Gulacsi, went down within the first 10 minutes and Celtic captain, Callum McGregor, followed him before half-time.

Certainly the openness seemed to suit the home side better than Celtic, who for all their energy and enterprise, looked porous and fragile every time Leipzig poured forward. Naturally a good deal of the criticism will fall on their makeshift centre-back pairing of Moritz Jenz and Stephen Welsh, and the calm assurance of Cameron Carter-Vickers was badly