Bayer Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich admits he relished the opportunity to rub Anthony Ralston’s nose in it during Celtic’s dramatic 3-2 Europa League defeat to the Bundesliga giants, speaking to the Rhein-Neckar Zeitung.
Say what you want about Ralston, he certainly doesn’t lack for competitiveness.
How many 18-year-olds would be brave enough to laugh in the face of none other than Neymar himself? Celtic might have been swept aside 5-0 by a star-studded PSG in that 2017 encounter but, for many, Ralston’s taunting of one of the planet’s finest footballers is the lasting memory from an otherwise punishing evening.
Four years later, Ralston was at it again on the European stage, though this time it was Robert Andrich embroiled in a long-running tussle with Celtic’s all-action right-back.
Unfortunately for Ralston, Andrich had the last laugh. Quite literally.
The towering midfielder gave Leverkusen the lead with a bullet header in the first half.
And, in the second, he pulled away from Ralston inside the penalty area to fire a loose ball through the legs of an inspired Joe Hart, cancelling out Filipe Jota’s superb strike at the other end and scuppering Celtic’s chances of a first-ever win on Germany soil.
Did Celtic deserve to beat Bayer Leverkusen?
“Maybe the emotions ran away with me a little,” Andrich smiled at full-time, reflecting on his decision to celebrate Leverkusen’s goal with a gloating yell aimed unmistakeably in Ralston’s direction.
“That was joy with a bit of provocation. A bit of provocation is part of football. For me, maybe a little more sometimes.
“He (Ralston) was my opponent at corners. After he didn’t defend the first two so well, he took it very seriously. So I wanted to show him. Sometimes you can’t mark me.”
A heart-breaking defeat the Bay Arena – sealed by Moussa Diaby’s brilliant 87th minute volley – means Celtic will be playing European football in the spring, albeit in the Conference League rather than the Europa.
In truth, it was a performance which brought to mind Rangers’ 3-3 draw away at Benfica 12 months ago.
A display full of poise, quality, energy and endeavour on the road against a European giant, all their hard work destroyed by a late sucker punch. A performance which deserved more.
On the positive side, however, it did highlight how far Celtic have come since their 4-0 defeat to the same opposition two months ago. Nir Bitton was colossal in midfield, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Stephen Welsh held their own against a fearsome forward line and, at the other end, Jota and Kyogo Furuhashi wreaked havoc again.
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