Moritz Jenz

Lost a few headers to Boyce which surprised me, but other than that he looks decent. If you compare his first few games to Starfelt's last year it's night and day.

 

Another good game.

Deserves to stay in the team.

 

Early days yet but he is looking like a good addition and I think we do have a buy clause in the loan deal which is good as I can see us wanting to make Jenz a long term contract offer if he keeps this up.

 

Moritz Jenz knew all about the big European nights at Celtic Park before joining this summer, having watched from afar, but now the draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League has been made, the defender can’t wait to experience it for himself.

The reigning European champions, Real Madrid join Shakhtar Donetsk and RB Leipzig in what is set up to be an exciting group for Celtic, back at the top table for the first time in five years.

The German central defender is just in the door as a Celtic player, but it hasn’t taken him long to understand how special these nights will be when they come round to Paradise.

Now the draw has taken place, the 23-year-old is excited to test himself against some of Europe's elite and he believes the team are ready to compete.

He said: “It’s a very interesting draw, with a game against the Champions League winners from last year.

'I think everyone was hoping we would get one of the big teams in the group and we’re ready to compete.'

“It will be difficult against Real Madrid and they will have high expectations, but it will be a fantastic evening here at Celtic Park and we will do our best and see what happens.

“I’ve been looking forward to these nights for a long time. The players have been telling me about it and I’ve been looking at a lot of videos on YouTube of past games.




"I just can’t wait to hear the anthem and the big roar, so I’m looking forward to it."

Born in Germany, Jenz knows all about the dangers of our opponents RB Leipzig. The Bundesliga side last visited Glasgow in 2018 in the Europa League, with the Celts running out 2-1 winners, and it’s an occasion the defender remembers well.

He added: “Leipzig are a very interesting team. They're a new club in the last few years and they’ve been doing well in the Champions League and European competitions.

“Celtic beat them 2-1 at home and I remember the game, it was fantastic. It will be a very interesting game again as they are very dynamic and very attacking.”

 

Moritz Jenz insists Bernabeu won't be the top arena for Celtic in Champions League
Celtic defender Moritz Jenz is full of anticipation at the prospect of visiting the Bernabeu courtesy of the Scottish champions being placed with Real Madrid in Group A of the Champions League.



But the 23-year-old believes there is one great amphitheatre that will top the Spaniard’s fabled cauldron as Celtic take on the holders, RB Leipzigand Shakhtar Dontesk in their section. Five weeks into his one-year loan deal from Lorient, the centre-back is of mind that there is no place like home. And, whatever the glitterati to be faced up in club football’s pre-eminent tournament, he believes no team will be blase about facing Ange Postecoglou’s men in their own backyard.

“I’ve never been to Madrid, so this will be my first trip,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing the famous Bernabeu. But for me, nothing compares to Celtic Park. A lot of players, like Messi and the Bayern Munich players, have spoken about the incredible atmosphere here. It’s a frightening place for an away team because the fans are crazy here in Scotland and the game is intense. I think they’ll be looking forward to playing here. I think it’s the draw we’d all been hoping for. It’s the biggest draw you can get. It’s amazing to play against the reigning champions of the Champions League. So we’re looking forward to playing against them and it will be a fantastic evening here at Celtic Park. There’s no sense of fear [from us]. There’s a sense of excitement [in competing] against the best team in Europe, or the world. It’s a good way of showing what we can do and to compete against them.”


Celtic last progressed from a Champions League group when they produced an unforgettable victory at home to Barcelona that was central to reaching the last 16 in 2012. They did so as runners-up to the Catalan giants, but the German - who joked that friends of his once on the books of Leipzig will now be on to him for tickets - dares to suggest another such finish need not be the extent of their ambitions. “Second place, first place….we just have to get past the group, that’s the target,” he said. “Honestly, I have to say since the first training session, there’s really no limit in the team. The quality that we have, every training session is like a challenge. Every training is new, very demanding. We have dominated in league games and now it’s going to be very interesting to see how we do in the Champions League against the big teams of the other countries. But we are always looking to improve.”

To that end, Celtic’s pre-draw statement of intent was the announcement that Montenegro international Saed Haksabanovic had been acquired from Rubin Kazan. It mght seem Celtic are now over-stocked with wide men - the 23-year-old added to a band comprising Jota, Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and James Forrest - but Jenz believes otherwise owing to the high intensity style demanded by Postecoglou. “He’s a very talented player and a very nice person,” the defender said of Celtic’s latest arrival. “When you are a big team you need a lot of options and he is another attacking option for us. There’s a lot of competition all over the team, you look at the centre back positions as well. It’s the same upfront. We want to be dangerous for 90 minutes and we have attacking players who can start or come on with 20 minutes to go and can make a difference.”

 

Harsh, would have started him and went with Starfelt midweek

 

Starfelt is our player and was playing well last season. He needs a few games before he's up to speed so needs the games at somepoint

 

Probably wanting them both match fit for Huns/Madrid. Who knows, he might even go back 3 at a point so alternating jenz & starfelt makes sense.

 

Agreed. I do like Starfelt but he's prone to a blunder and I worry playing the likes of Real at Celtic park might faze him a bit. Jenz on the other hand seems unflappable.

 

Thought Starfelt starting today was fair, CCV our only nailed on starting CB and we need both his partners match fit for the run of games we have coming up.

 

This pass for the second goal was truly sublime

 

Poor defensively..

 

Unimpressed by him 2nd half there

 

Our weakest player today. He wasn't 'bad' but was pretty sloppy and looked a bit vulnerable defensively

 

Still yet to be convinced he’s a good defender. Good on the ball, though.

 

I still really like the big man, but I think there's no doubt Starfelt starts against the huns after that performance.