Nicolas Kuhn says Celtic have won Champions League respect back after Dortmund reality check
Nicolas Kuhn reckons a return to Germany to face former club Bayern Munich would be exciting - because Celtic have won respect back after their Borussia Dortmund bashing.
Supercomputers have predicted Bayern could lie in wait for Brendan Rodgers’ side in next month’s Champions League last 16 play-off. Kuhn spent two years in the Munich B team after leaving Ajax. And the winger wouldn’t be scared of the prospect of facing Harry Kane and co - despite losing 7-1 to Dortmund just four months ago.
He said: “Yeah of course it would be exciting. There are a lot of great teams we could face. I think we have seen so far during this league phase just how quickly things can change.
“Dortmund I think were up in fifth place at one point the other night and then they conceded two goals, and suddenly they were down in 14th. So, it can change a lot, but we will see what is going to happen and we will take whatever comes.
“We had a pretty good start, but then we had the Dortmund game, which showed we had a lot that we had to work on. Over the next five games we earned a lot of points, so I think we deserved to go through. I think it was important to get the respect back. That was just a really perfect day for Dortmund I think, and a bad one for us. We kept going, and we came through and showed what we can really do at this level.
“The Atalanta game was huge. It was an amazing game for us to play against a team like them, who are known for scoring a lot of goals at the top level and being aggressive in one-on-ones, and to do such a good job and keep a clean sheet.
Celtic were made to wait to the 86th minute for a winner against Young Boys on Wednesday that clinched the play-off spot with a game to spare. And Kuhn reckons the patience shown from the stands was a huge factor in getting them over the line. He said: “It was really important. The support was amazing from the first minute. We showed a good level and played a good game. We had three disallowed goals in the first half and missed a penalty.
“That was obviously frustrating and disappointing, but we knew we had the chance in the second half to go out and attack them again. We just kept going. We only got the one goal, but it was enough. In the end, it was a deserved win.”
Kuhn, who has been a standout for Celtic this season, admits it will be sad to see Kyogo exit Celtic Park. But with Jota coming in the 25-year-old is confident the Hoops won’t end the month in a weaker state.
He said: “We’re really going to miss Kyogo, not just on the pitch but off the pitch too. He’s a great player but also just a really nice guy, he always has a smile on his face, but that’s football. We’ll keep going. We know that there can be a lot of changes throughout a season.
“For instance, we had Adam coming in during January last year, so that’s all part of it, and whatever happens I think we will come out stronger as a group.”
