Bruised Brendan Rodgers believes his Celtic side were “spooked” by an early barrage from Borussia Dortmund, as his team endured a 7-1 demolition in the Champions League.
Despite the heavy defeat on matchday two, the Celtic boss remains adamant he will not resort to defensive tactics, even against Europe’s elite.
Rodgers, who has faced similar humiliations against the likes of PSG, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid during his two stints at the club, acknowledged the need to learn from these losses but vowed not to “camp in” as he continues his quest to translate domestic dominance into European success.
Celtic’s hopes were short-lived at the Westfalenstadion. Emre Can opened the scoring for the hosts with a seventh-minute penalty, but Daizen Maeda provided a glimmer of hope, levelling the match moments later.
However, the Bundesliga giants quickly reasserted their dominance. Karim Adeyemi struck a hat-trick, Serhou Guirassy netted a brace, including a penalty, and Felix Nmecha completed the rout, leaving the Scottish champions shell-shocked.
Reflecting on the game, Rodgers admitted the early onslaught had unsettled his players.
“We’re really disappointed with the result and performance-wise I don’t think I’ve been involved in a game where virtually every mistake we made was punished, and that’s the highest level of modern football,” he said.
“We could have been better with the ball, but going down 3-1 and 4-1 early spooked us a little bit, and we didn’t play with the same confidence. They were playing at a high level.”
Despite the collapse, Rodgers praised his side’s resilience in the second half.
“The guys showed great spirit, and we had more possession of the ball and took greater risks, but ultimately we were beaten by a much better team.
“We will assess it and look back afterwards. We wanted to press the game but stay balanced and compact, yet too many times when we ran out of position, top players punished us.”
Rodgers pointed to the team’s inability to maintain possession as a key factor in the defeat.
“We got punished for giving the ball away. We needed longer spells in the game. We were too rushed. We know we have pace, but we needed the ball for longer periods. We looked for that killer pass too early, and you’re constantly giving the ball away and chasing it. Their frontline is so fast and direct, and they have real quality. They punished us.
“The big defeats have come against Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG… We always have to adapt, but sometimes the quality breaks through that.
“Are we going to sit in and camp and wait? No, we won’t do that. We play in a way that allows us to dominate domestically. We know it will be difficult to do that at times, but we still have to show our ability with the ball, and we were nowhere near that level. We gave it away too easily.”
Rodgers expressed pride in his players for their response in the second half, despite the heavy scoreline.
“We conceded two penalties, and from a corner, they scored an unbelievable goal. That can affect your confidence, but I was proud of the players’ second-half effort. It’s the first time we’ve had that feeling for a long time, and we have to learn from it.”
Celtic captain Callum McGregor echoed his manager’s sentiments, describing the defeat as “a sore one.” He said:
“We were punished for every mistake we made, which doesn’t happen often in football. It was a sobering night. Credit to Dortmund, who showed real quality, but we have to stick together.
“We’ve had a good start to the season, but we’ve been sobered a little bit, and we have to take that, keep the group together, and bounce back in the next game.
“We got ourselves back into the game, but the quick goal rattled us, and we started to go alone, trying to win the ball back. Coming out of our shape against good players will kill you.”
McGregor emphasised the importance of sticking to the game plan, even when under pressure.
“The game plan was to balance moments of pressure with the understanding that you will suffer at times against good players. But we became a bit more individual, and that opened us up. We have to learn from that. Credit to Dortmund – we have a lot to think about after this.”
He added: “You’re playing against good players with good ideas. The second goal rattled us, the stadium gets going, and you’re in a spin a little bit. We have to learn from that.”