There was renewed hope for the Hoops in this season’s competition under Ange Postecoglou but the side haven’t had the required quality.
Celtic had 16-13 shots, but only managed two on target compared to Leipzig’s five, with the goals coming from Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg in the final 15 minutes.
“I thought we showed the endeavour to win the game, but as we’ve found out at this level if you don’t take your chances, it’s very hard to convert that into a result,” Postecoglou said.
“It’s been the story of our campaign so far, a tale of missed opportunities. It’s the hardest part of the game, it’s why clubs spend hundreds of millions on players who do that.
“The experience can hopefully get your players to feel more comfortable in those situations, and we’ve been unlucky too. We’ve hit the post twice in the same sequence where on any other day that could go in.”
Postecoglou’s side have managed two goals and conceded nine in the Champions League. Seven of the nine goals they’ve conceded have come in the second half.
Celtic’s last Champions League victory was back in September 2017 when they won 3-0 at Anderlecht.
The Hoops still have two more games to go to earn that elusive win, but also stay in Europe, with third spot in the group qualifying for the Europa League.
Celtic have one point from four games, with Real Madrid top of Group F with 10 points ahead of Leipzig (six) and Shakhtar Donetsk (five). Shakhtar drew 1-1 with Real on Tuesday with Antonio Rudiger scoring a late equalizer.
“It’s about holding our nerve and not falling into the trap of thinking its not working,” Postecoglou said. “I believe it is not far away from working.
“I think the worst thing you can do is now shy away from doing what we are doing because we haven’t had success immediately at this level.
“We have got to keep going. Irrespective of whether we can continue on we have two more Champions League games and we want to keep using as a platform to improve as a football team, to improve our players. And while they have exposure at this level, I think the better equipped we will be moving forward.”