Borussia Dortmund 7-1 Celtic: Hoops humbled by Bundesliga side in Champions League
Report as Borussia Dortmund beat Celtic 7-1 in Germany; Daizen Maeda cancelled out Emre Can's opener; Karim Adeyemi's hat-trick, Serhou Guirassy's double and a Felix Nmecha strike wrapped up an emphatic win for last season's Champions League runners-up
Wednesday 2 October 2024 12:49, UK
Celtic were taught a lesson by Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League as their winning run was halted in spectacular fashion with a 7-1 defeat.
There was cautious optimism for the Hoops after starting the season with nine straight victories in all competitions, but they could not cope with the threat of the Bundesliga side as simple mistakes proved costly.
Last season's runners-up had not lost in 12 Champions League games at home and took an early lead. Captain Emre Can converted from the penalty spot after Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel had brought down Jamie Gittens.
Daizen Maeda hit back almost instantly, but Karim Adeyemi netted a double with Serhou Guirassy making it four from the penalty spot after Arne Engels caught Adeyemi in the box.
The winger wrapped up his hat-trick before the break with Guirassy firing in his second and Dortmund's sixth in the second half. Felix Nmecha came off the bench to add to the Scottish champions' woes with a seventh.
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Champions League nightmare for Celtic
Celtic's heaviest European defeat remains a 7-0 loss in Barcelona during Rodgers' first spell in charge and he also suffered a 7-1 reverse against Paris Saint-Germain and a 6-0 loss to Atletico Madrid.
The warning signs were evident from early on when Adeyemi had numerous options but could not find a pass or shot, before Can provided the opener in the seventh minute after Schmeichel felled Gittens when the winger had burst beyond Celtic's back four.
The visitors were level inside two minutes when Maeda bundled home Engels' cross but Dortmund regained the lead in the same timescale. Guirassy's flick to the unmarked Julian Brandt left the Celtic back line vulnerable and Adeyemi ran on to the through ball and fired high into the net off the foot of Auston Trusty.
They continued to give the ball away and the chances kept coming. Adeyemi came close from 25 yards after Paulo Bernardo's loose pass and Schmeichel saved from Pascal Gross before another wave of goals.
Engels caught Adeyemi on the foot as the pair contested a bouncing ball and Guirassy did the damage from the 40th-minute penalty. Celtic shot themselves in the foot again two minutes later when Maeda overran the ball on the edge of his box and Adeyemi supplied another lethal finish.
Rodgers made a double substitution at the interval, putting Reo Hatate on for Bernardo and Alex Valle for Greg Taylor, who had been struggling with a calf issue.
Celtic were spared more punishment from Adeyemi when the 22-year-old Germany international was forced off by an injury just after the restart.
But the pattern of the game did not change and Schmeichel made saves from 18-year-old substitute Julien Duranville and Julian Ryerson.
A poor cross from Nicolas Kuhn and a wayward shot from Hatate prevented Celtic from reducing the arrears before Guirassy turned Liam Scales one way and another before stabbing home the sixth in the 66th minute.
The Celtic fans kept singing and their team kept trying to reward them. Hatate came close from 22 yards and fellow sub Adam Idah could only head Valle's cross into the arms of Gregor Kobel from close range.
The pain was not finished, though, and Nmecha drilled home the seventh in the 79th minute after the ball broke for the substitute in the box.
Schmeichel denied Duranville from a one-on-one to prevent a record European defeat and Celtic now need to regroup before taking on Atalanta in Italy in their next game in the tournament.
Rodgers: Top players punish you
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers:
"It was a tough watch to be honest. We weren't quite at our best and they showed why they're a top, top team.
"We didn't make the start that we wanted and then, like I said to the players afterwards, I don't think I've been involved in a game where I felt that every single mistake that we made got punished.
"And that's the level. Any misplaced pass or moment that they had, it just seemed to end up in the back of the net. And then on the other side, we had a couple of moments in the second half and it didn't just quite fall for us.
"At this level, especially away from home against a top team, you need to be at your highest level. We weren't and they were.
"I think that we may have got spooked a little bit early on. We get the equaliser and very, very quickly we're then 2-1 behind. They get a foothold in the game, start to move it well and we start to chase it a little bit.
"So it was a mixture of our positioning but also then just our quality and our passing. We were either short or didn't make the right pass or the touch wasn't quite right. So we just didn't play a good game technically."
Wilson: Celtic lucky it was only seven
Former Celtic defender Mark Wilson on Sky Sports News:
"A reality check, a sobering evening for Celtic.
"It was probably a realistic glimpse of the different levels between the top sides in Europe compared to where Celtic are.
"Dortmund are a very good side but I think when Brendan Rodgers analyses the game he will see the amount of mistakes they made in possession. That's unlike Celtic domestically because they have a large share of the ball and they usually make it count.
"Dortmund just let them make their own mistakes and as soon as they made one they pounced and took their chances.
"If I'm totally honest Celtic were lucky with 7-1. I can count four or five times Kasper Schmeichel pulled off some decent saves, so it could have been a lot worse."
