Celtic suffered their first defeat of the 2024/25 season on Tuesday night, losing 7-1 away to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
After all the optimism and hope from nine wins in nine, Dortmund brought the Scottish champions back down to earth with a bang in a blistering first half that left Celtic bruised.
Brendan Rodgers talked up his belief in his players pre-match but they couldn’t cope with a Dortmund intent on ruthlessly proving just how good they can be at the elite level.
Dortmund punish Celtic again and again
Emre Can opened the scoring within seven minutes after Kasper Schmeichel pulled down Jamie Gittens in the box to concede a penalty.
Celtic showed great spirit to get back into the match immediately. Arne Engels fired in a beauty of a cross from the right flank for Daizen Maeda to nudge home from close range.
However, Dortmund were back in front within seconds. Karim Adeyemi broke through an open Celtic defence to lash a shot past Schmeichel with the help of an Auston Trusty deflection.
It didn’t get any easier for the Bhoys. Adeyemi scored twice more, while Serhour Guirassy netted from another penalty to have the home side 5-1 up at the interval.
The deluge didn’t subside in the second half despite a drop in tempo. Guirassy added to the Germans’ advantage in the 66th minute before substitute Felix Nmecha made it seven.
Celtic fans have seen this Champions League story before
Collapses away in Europe are nothing new for supporters. There had been optimism that Celtic may have turned a corner in that regard, but the display in Dortmund was every bit as difficult to watch as the thrashings at the hands of Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona over the years.
Despite all the talk of learning lessons and improving, nothing seems to change. The manager continues to use the same gung-ho tactics, and players exhibit all-too-familiar naivety.
It has to be noted that Dortmund are a step above Celtic in resources and quality of talent, but that shouldn’t stop the Bhoys from turning up ready to perform. They simply didn’t tonight.
Unforced individual errors, silly penalties conceded, loose possession, and crazy, open defending are all things we know too well at this level. Celtic can play better than tonight, but performing poorly at the same time as a team hitting their stride is a recipe for disaster.
Bhoys still have hope for European progression
Despite the doom and gloom of tonight and an inevitable reaction from pundits and supporters, there’s plenty left in this tournament for Rodgers’ side.
There are still six matches to play, and each game has to be considered on its own merits. Although further daunting tasks against Atalanta and RB Leipzig are on the immediate horizon, there are plenty of points to be won.
Everyone will want to forget tonight quickly. But Celtic must closely examine what went wrong and what can be done better. That’s what it is all about when you take a hiding, and that’s what tonight was.
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