Celtic

Image source, SNS

Nicolas Kuhn hopes his wonderful early-season form will continue after his productive cameo against Falkirk on Sunday.

The winger was substituted on in the second half with Celtic 2-1 down and managed to score two goals and set up both of Adam Idah's efforts to help the Glasgow side to a 5-2 victory.

"I'm always happy to score and assist," Kuhn told CelticTV, external.

"It was a difficult first half but the second half we showed a different side and I'm happy we got the win.

"The coach told us all about Falkirk, it was a difficult first half but I think in the second half we showed what we can do.

"I'm feeling really good and I hope it's going to continue like that."

Image source, Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund head coach Nuri Sahin promised some harsh words for his players after they suffered a 5-1 thrashing by Stuttgart in the build-up to their Champions League meeting with Celtic.

Sahin said their first defeat of the season since he was promoted from assistant this summer "had nothing to do with physical fatigue" following the midweek 3-0 win away to Club Bruges in their Champions League opener.

"You can't perform like that," he told his club website. "You can find a million excuses, but none of them apply.

"We weren't there from the first to the last minute and didn't win a single tackle. We'll deal with it very harshly, call a spade a spade, but then we want to look ahead, even if that sounds trite."

Sunderland-born United States winger Giovanni Reyna, son of former Rangers midfielder Claudio, was Dortmund's only injury absentee as Sahin made three changes to the side that won in Belgium.

Two players signed from Stuttgart this summer, centre-back Waldemar Anton and Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy, as well as former Manchester City and England youth midfielder Felix Nmecha, came into the starting line-up.

Netherlands forward Donyell Malen, Algeria defender Rami Bensebaini and the versatile Emre Can dropped to the bench, with Julian Brandt taking over the captaincy from his fellow Germany midfielder.

Deniz Undav, who made his move from Brighton & Hove Albion permanent this summer, got the ball rolling for the hosts as he fired in off the far post after only four minutes for his fifth goal in five games.

Bosnia & Herzigovina striker Ermedin Demirovic headed the second after 21 minutes for his fourth in four since arriving from Augsburg.

Midfielder Enzo Millot scored from close range after the break and, although Guirassy slotted a reply against his former club, the former set up late goals for El Toure and Undav.

Sahin did not see such a poor performance coming, adding: "In the final training session, everything felt really good, but you are always wiser with the benefit of hindsight."

Stuttgart's win means they leapfrog Dortmund in the Bundesliga table, with Sahin's side now eighth ahead of Bochum's visit on Friday, after which they host Celtic on 1 October.

Scotland Under-21 international Lyall Cameron has admitted he would love to follow in the footsteps of his former Dundee midfield partner, Luke McCowan, and win a move to a major club like Celtic or Rangers in future. (The Herald), external

Two-goal striker Adam Idah concedes he and his Celtic teammates showed Falkirk a lack of respect before twice coming back from behind to win their Scottish League Cup quarter-final 5-2 on Sunday. (Glasgow Times), external

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says that Falkirk gave his team their toughest test of the season before the Scottish Championship leaders finally succumbing to defeat in their League Cup quarter-final. (The National), external

Falkirk manager John McGlynn has revealed that Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers came into the away dressing-room to compliment his players after they gave the Scottish champions a fright in their League Cup quarter-final. (Daily Record), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

Celtic came from behind twice against Championship club Falkirk to survive a scare and set up a Scottish League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.

Two goals in under three second-half minutes from striker Adam Idah proved decisive after a previously sloppy performance from Brendan Rodgers' side.

Championship leaders Falkirk already had two top-flight scalps in this competition and played with confidence in the opening stages, taking the game to Celtic.

Goals from Ross MacIver and Finn Yeats - either side of Paulo Bernardo's volley - gave John McGlynn's side a deserved half-time lead.

Rodgers made changes in the second half and the quality of his substitutes showed, as Nicolas Kuhn set up Idah twice, before scoring two of his own.

Michael McKenna was sent off late on for Falkirk as they were left to rue what might have been.

What did you make of the performance, Celtic fans? Have your say on the game here, external.

Image source, SNS

Nicolas Kuhn's introduction off the bench played a big part in swinging the game Celtic's way.

He drove at the tiring Falkirk defence and set up both Adam Idah goals, before finding the back of the net twice himself.

A wonderful cameo from the German winger.

Image source, SNS

Brendan Rodgers made eight changes to the side that swept aside Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Wednesday in an attempt to freshen things up, but it resulted in a disjointed first-half display.

The back four in particular were very shaky. Pacey forward Alfredo Agyeman got in behind new-look centre-back pairing Stephen Welsh and Auston Trusty with alarming ease, while Barcelona loanee Alex Valle made his debut at left-back and was questionable for both Falkirk goals.

In forward areas, Luis Palma struggled to have any real influence, constantly cutting inside onto his right foot instead of hitting the byeline and his final ball was lacking.

The Celtic manager's displeasure was demonstrated by a quadruple substitution on the hour mark, with big-money signing Arne Engels introduced alongside Greg Taylor, Nicolas Kuhn and Yang Hyun-Jun.

It had the desired effect as Celtic began to pin Falkirk in their own half and pop the ball about with confidence.

A rasping shot from Yang stung Nicky Hogarth's palms in the Falkirk goal, and not long after, Adam Idah tapped home Kuhn's cross to level the scores.

Straight from kick-off, Celtic pinched possession high up the pitch and Kuhn fed Idah again. The Ireland international bullied his way past two would-be tacklers and swept past Hogarth to give Celtic the lead for the first time.

Kuhn has shone this season and he took his two goals superbly, dinking calmly over Hogarth after a well-weighted Engels through ball, before lashing in Celtic's fifth from the edge of the box.

Rodgers will be delighted to reach Hampden having gone 2-1 behind, and will be pleased with the way things came together in the closing stages.

However, some underwhelming displays from fringe members of his squad will have raised question marks over their suitability for games against higher profile opposition.

Image source, SNS

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers: "It's always a risk making changes," Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers tells Premier Sports. "You could see that connection wasn't quite there for the first hour.

"If there's any blame on the first hour, it's on me. I make the changes. It's a challenge for the guys coming in and I thought they gave everything.

"Falkirk were aggressive and pressed us really well. Full credit to them.

"The objective is to get to there (the semi-finals) and it doesn't really matter who you play.

"Looking at the Aberdeen results, they've been excellent. When it comes round, it will be a good game."

Image source, SNS

Celtic will face Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals.

Holders Rangers take on Motherwell in the other tie.

The games will take place on the weekend of 2-3 November.

Celtic winger James Forrest, 33, has his sights on earning a new contract for next season as he looks to add to the 24 trophies he's won in 15 years with the club. (Daily Record), external

Danny Wilson says Auston Trusty has the "right temperament" to make an impact at Celtic and jokes that he wishes his former Colorado Rapids team-mate had signed for Rangers. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

Image source, SNS

Image source, SNS

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has backed Falkirk counterpart - and former colleague - John McGlynn for a top-level job in the future.

McGlynn, 62, worked as an analyst on Rodgers' staff after joining Celtic in 2015 when Ronny Deila was in charge.

He has guided Falkirk to the top of the Scottish Championship following last season's League 1 title win, and Rodgers is surprised clubs in higher divisions haven't tried to lure McGlynn away.

"Sometimes what can happen is that experience kind of gets overlooked because there's maybe a trend for a younger manager to come in with fresh ideas and new ideas," Rodgers said.

"But I still think you can be really experienced and have a young mind. And that young mind with experience can really take clubs forward.

"But he may well have done. I'm not sure whether he's declared that or not, but he may well have done and just been happy where he is.

"But there's absolutely no doubt that what he's produced in the two jobs since he left here has been absolutely brilliant. The style of football, the game he looks to play, it's very, very impressive.

"So that opportunity will, if it hasn't, then I’m pretty sure that that would come for him."

Rodgers pointed to Atalanta's Gian Piero Gasperini as an example of how older managers are still capable of "driving" football clubs forward.

"Look at Gasperini, 66 years of age, still a young mind, fresh and really driving on the vision of his club there," Rodgers added.

"As long as you have that young mind, but fresh and experienced, then that can really help any club. And John is one of those guys that get a wonderful enthusiasm for the game, a really authentic guy who can take teams forward.

"And without any disrespect to Raith and to Falkirk, then he can certainly do that at a higher level."

Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate admits to being frustrated after he failed to feature for Japan in their World Cup double header against China and Bahrain but insists the 5000-mile trip was not a waste of time. (Sportiva, external - in Japanese)

With a 30% sell-on clause, Celtic stand to make £15m as Chelsea and PSG consider offers of £50m for Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Jeremie Frimpong. (TBR Football), external

Read the rest of Saturday's Scottish gossip.

Image source, SNS

The League Cup "means everything" to Brendan Rodgers as the Celtic manager eyes a return to Hampden by getting the better off old pal John McGlynn.

Celtic fell at the first hurdle last season, but welcome Championship leaders Falkirk on Sunday in the quarter-finals.

The first trophy Rodgers won during his initial Celtic spell was the League Cup, and therefore the "competition is important" to the Northern Irishman.

"We will be going all-out on Sunday to get to the semi-finals," he said.

Standing in his way of returning to Hampden - a place he has "always loved" - is McGlynn, who work as an analyst on Rodgers' staff after joining the club in 2015 when Ronny Deila was in charge.

The Bairns boss, whose newly-promoted side top the Championship, was full of praise for his former manager, calling him a "genius" in the build-up to Sunday's showdown.

In response, Rodgers said: "Don’t use that word! When that gets said, that's when everyone chases you even more, I don't need that!

"When I came into here, we brought in a structure and a way of working and a mentality that he was a part of. He saw it first hand and he was in it, he knows how I work and the levels that I go to.

"John always went the extra mile for me. He knew there was a big demand with the job here and what I wanted, he was a real team player.

"I'm more comfortable talking about him and his achievements, he's done fantastic. I'm delighted for him and he'll have a great season... just not at the weekend."

Image source, SNS

Brendan Rodgers has been addressing the media before Celtic's Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Falkirk on Sunday.

Here are the key lines:

• Looking back on Wednesday's "outstanding" Champions League win, the manager said it has given the squad "another layer of confidence".

• He is hopeful that rolls into Sunday's match in what is in an "important competition" for Rodgers as it's the first he won during his previous spell.

• He adds: "We will be going all-out to get into the semi-final."

• Rodgers is "proud" of John McGlynn, who worked under him at Celtic last time around. The Falkirk manager described Rodgers as "a genius" and in response, the Celtic boss said: "Don't use that word!"

• He is sure Falkirk, who currently top of the Championship after promotion, will enjoy a great season, "just not on Sunday".

• After Joe Hart heaped praise on Daizen Maeda's intensity in tracking back on the BBC's Champions League Match of Day, Rodgers said: "I would doubt there is anyone better in world football than Maeda at doing that."

• He said there are a few players with "niggles", including Alistair Johnston who missed training, and "we won't take any risks".

Image source, SNS

Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn described his Champions League debut as "as the craziest thing I ever experienced" and says it reduced his friends to tears.

The Germany winger provided an assist for Kyogo Furuhashi in the 5-1 thumping of Slovan Bratislava on a night the Celtic Park atmosphere exceeded his expectations.

"Unbelievable. It was the craziest thing I ever experienced. It was amazing," said 24-year-old Kuhn.

"It was a long journey and finally arriving in the Champions League at such a stadium was unreal.

"It was more than I expected. After the anthem it was so loud it was amazing. Everyone said they are special nights and I was really looking forward to it and now I can say I have played in a game here.

"A lot of friends were here and my girlfriend. [They thought it was] amazing. I think they were crying."

Kuhn, who came through the ranks of RB Leipzig, Ajax and Bayern Munich, had twice played in qualifiers with Rapid Vienna but never reached the group stage.

"The goal was always to play in the Champions League," he added.

"When I was on a year loan from Bayern [at Erzgebirge Aue], I said in the second league in Germany, the goal is Champions League and one day hopefully national team.

"I was 20-21, that was my goal and I didn't care what other people said. It's what I believe I can achieve and that was my feeling."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Some may call this the Kasper Schmeichel derby.

The last time Falkirk defeated Celtic was way back in March 2007 when a bright-eyed 20-year-old Schmeichel saved Craig Beattie's spot-kick with the Bairns 1-0 up in the top-flight meeting.

Steven Thomson's early strike was enough to defeat Gordon Strachan's side, which included the likes of Shunsuke Nakamura, Paul Hartley and Neil Lennon.

Beattie was fouled by Dean Holden and took the spot-kick himself, but it was a weak effort and the on-loan Manchester City goalkeeper smothered comfortably.

It was the first time since 1991 that Falkirk had defeated Celtic in the league, although Strachan's men went on to complete a league and Scottish Cup double, while the Bairns finished seventh in the table.

In the 12 meetings since that win over 17 years ago, Falkirk have lost 10 and drawn two.

Their hero that day, Schmeichel, will be standing in the current Championship leaders' way come Sunday at Celtic Park as the Denmark international eyes his sixth domestic clean sheet since joining in the summer.

Dundee, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren will each take in £1.6m in solidarity payments due to Celtic's Champions League qualification, with Aberdeen and Dundee United receiving £1m and £650,000 going to Hearts and Livingston. (Mail), external

Rangers' biggest-ever shirt sponsorship deal, which will enjoy an increase of £1.5m per year to nearly £3m if all targets are met, was more than matched by city rivals Celtic in one game this week in the Champions League. (Record), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

Image source, Getty Images

Dinamo Zagreb, who host Celtic in the Champions League on 10 December, are seeking a new head coach after Sergej Jakirovic left the Croatian club by mutual agreement two days after their 9-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich.

It set the record for the most goals scored by a team in a Champions League match.

Bayern's Harry Kane netted four times, becoming the highest-scoring English player in European Cup history, with Bruno Petkovic and Takuya Ogiwara's goals a minor consolation in the visitors' demolition at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.

Jakirovic, who previously coached Rijeka, was appointed head coach at Dinamo in February 2023, with the 47-year-old Bosnian leading Dinamo to their 25th league title and the Croatian Cup last season.

Club president Velimir Zajec said: "In such situations, the most important thing is to remain decent and to put Dinamo's interests first.

"It’s now up to us to make a quality decision about the new coach during this difficult moment for Dinamo and to get back on the winning track.

“We had a pleasant cooperation and Jakirovic left an impression on me as a quality individual."

Sandro Perkovic, a member of Jakirovic's coaching staff, has been appointed caretaker manager of the side currently sitting third in their domestic league.

Image source, SNS

Captain Callum McGregor says Celtic delivered the best performance of his 11-year Champions League career in Wednesday's 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava.

Given it was just the third victory the midfielder has experienced in the competition, perhaps that assessment is expected.

But Brendan Rodgers' side completely overwhelmed the Slovakian champions in Glasgow, with McGregor hailing the second-half display in particular as "outstanding".

Asked if the win was a career high as a player in the tournament, the 31-year-old said: "Yeah, I think so. You win 5-1, then it's obvious. But I just thought the performance level, especially second half, was outstanding.

"We looked to have a real, real threat and we got five and probably could've got more. Expectation was on us to come and deliver and we did that.

"Five goals in a Champions League game, so it shows you the level of attacking play was there. Clinical, ruthless, all the things you need to be on these nights."

McGregor accepts tougher nights are on the horizon for his side, with back-to-back trips to last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund and Europa League winners Atalanta up next.

But the former Scotland midfielder feels Celtic will go into those games "with all the confidence in the world".

"[There's] no reason why we can't go and see where our football is at compared to these teams," he added.

"We want pure positivity. The group are working hard. We're still a relatively young group and there are some new players in there as well."

However, McGregor was also keen to put a lid on any post-match hysteria.

When asked how it feels to know Celtic are now second in the new 36-team league phase, he said: "Stop there. Again it's the opening night, big expectation.

"I think there'll be a lot of teams sitting on similar points and it'll be the goals scored and goals against that will potentially keep you in or knock you out, and we have to keep an eye on that as well."

Former goalkeeper Joe Hart has hailed the Celtic transition from Ange Postecoglou to Brendan Rodgers, despite questioning the process as a player.

Rodgers' return to the club last summer rankled with some fans, but the Northern Irishman won back their support by securing a league and cup double, which goalkeeper Hart was a key part of before his retirement.

Despite the success, Rodgers admitted the campaign was far from vintage, and Hart revealed he even "wasn't quite sure" about the manager's approach.

But the ex-England international feels Celtic's perfect start to the current season, plus Wednesday night's statement Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava, has proven Rodgers' long-term plan has come to fruition.

Speaking on Match of the Day's new Champions League highlights show, Hart revealed: "It was tough for him to take over, but you know what I love? He understood we had been well drilled under the Postecoglou regime.

"We had ways of playing, people had certain triggers which he couldn’t just erase, so he slowly worked his way. I personally wasn't quite sure: 'Is he going to put his stamp on this?'

"Four, three months to go, Brendan stepped up. He let everyone know what it meant to be a Celtic player and all of a sudden the little tweaks and minor changes, he put his spin on it.

"We really felt it as players and I think with pre-season going so well, the next thing the season starts incredibly well, a favourable draw in the Champions League, a night like this, it is only going to get better."

We asked for your views on Celtic's emphatic 5-1 win against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League opener.

Here's what some of you said:

Andy: Celtic were absolutely fantastic and I have to give a special mention to Arne Engels. His performance was outstanding and his technical ability is there for all to see.

Chris: Great result and perfect start to the group. We played well but I've seen us play better. I don’t think the international break helped us as we were in good form before it and have maybe dipped a bit. We also need to avoid sloppy mistakes like the goal we conceded but I do think we are going to cause teams problems.

David: Wow. Celtic came out all guns blazing, we were absolutely on fire, we played great but there were one or two scares for us but we handled them well. Engels yet again was a player on fire, five-star effort. As for the rest of the team they played out of their skin and the passing was just amazing, a perfect performance.

Ben: The summer transfer window was all about construction. Could Celtic source the materials? Could they bring in flair and no little amount of steel? On last night's evidence, it would appear they have succeeded.

Stephen: Positive first steps against the weakest team they will face in their eight matches. Bigger challenges ahead but we'll see if Brendan and the boys can stand up to that this season as the games unfold.

Stephen: From the first whistle, to the last, Celtic were magnificent. The confidence flowing through the team is amazing. To win 5-1 in the Champions League is outstanding, fact is, it could've and should've been more. Overall it's probably the best display we've ever had in Europe.

Gordy: Fantastic game, we took the game away from Bratislava from the off, Engels was superb and will only get better. We have the makings of a really good team and look good enough to qualify for the last 16. That performance means we should fear none of the teams we have to play.