Celtic break unwanted 27-year record after humiliating 7-1 Champions League defeat to Borussia Dortmund

Celtic were left licking their wounds against Borussia Dortmund

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Stuart Ballard

By Stuart Ballard


Published: 01/10/2024

- 21:51

Celtic were thumped 7-1 by Borussia Dortmund in their second Champions League tie.

Celtic endured a night to forget away to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League as they became the first British team in 27 years to concede five goals in the first half of a European game.

Brendan Rodgers' side found themselves fourth in the new league phase of the Champions League after a thumping 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava two weeks ago.


That gave the Scottish side hope of causing an upset away to Dortmund on Tuesday with the German club struggling in their domestic league.

However, Celtic failed to lay a glove on their German opposition in what turned out to be a disastrous night for the Scottish giants.

Celtic were left licking their wounds against Borussia Dortmund

Celtic were left licking their wounds against Borussia Dortmund

REUTERS

Emre Can got the hosts up and running after Kasper Schmeichel conceded a penalty.

Daizen Maeda provided Celtic fans a glimmer of hope a few minutes later with an instinctive equaliser, but they were back behind just seconds later when Karim Adeyemi found the back of the net.

Things went from bad to worse for Celtic after going 2-1 down with Dortmund scoring three more before the break as Adeyemi completed his hat-trick.

The 5-1 scoreline saw Celtic become the British first team to concede five goals in the first half of any European competition since Welsh side Cwmbran Town shipped the same amount to Progresul Bucharest in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1997.

Dortmund took their foot off the gas in the second half, but managed to add two more with Celtic unable to reduce the deficit.

Celtic will want to move on from the humiliating defeat quickly and will have plenty of chances to rectify the result in the Champions League.

Teams play eight games in the league phase as opposed to the previous six from the old group stage format.

The 'Swiss-style' 36-team league will see the top eight automatically qualify for the last-16 while teams finishing ninth to 24th will compete in two-legged play-offs.

Brendan Rodgers will have some work to do to get his side back on track

Brendan Rodgers will have some work to do to get his side back on track

REUTERS

The bottom 12 teams will be eliminated from European competition altogether with no access to the Europa League.

The format gives Celtic plenty of opportunity to get back on track and they face Serie A side Atalanta next later this month.

Rodgers' side also go up against RB Leipzig, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb, FC Young Boys and Aston Villa.

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Celtic currently sit down in 19th in the table, but could drop outside the top-24 when the second game week is complete.

They will turn their attention back to the Scottish Premiership this weekend when they travel to Ross County on Sunday.

Celtic have won all six of their opening league matches without conceding a single goal and are ahead of Aberdeen on goal difference.

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