Callum McGregor last night admitted Celtic have a lot to think about after suffering another European hammering on the road at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.
It was the third time they have lost seven goals in the Champions League under Brendan Rodgers, following heavy defeats to Barcelona and PSG during his first spell in charge. Last season, Rodgers also presided over a 6-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid.
Behind after seven minutes in Germany last night when Emre Can converted a penalty, the visitors drew level when Daizen Maeda bundled home Arne Engels’ cross two minutes later.
But Celtic’s hopes of taking something from the game vanished as they capitulated thereafter — losing another four goals before the half-time whistle.
Karim Adeyemi claimed a hat-trick inside 32 minutes with Serhou Guirassy also netting a penalty. Guirassy scored again in the second half with Felix Nmecha completing the rout 11 minutes from time.
Celtic skipper McGregor believes the way the team were so easily picked apart will provide much food for thought as they dust themselves down from the drubbing.
Callum McGregor was at a loss to explain his side’s capitulation at the Signal Iduna Park
The Celtic captain has called on his team-mates to learn their lesson ahead of Atalanta contest
‘It’s a sore one, for sure. Every mistake we made, we were punished pretty much,’ he said.
‘It doesn’t happen that often in a game of football. Before we knew it, we were 5-1 down.
‘It’s a sobering night. When you make mistakes like that, you get punished.
‘Conceding the early goal rocked us a little bit. We started becoming a little bit more individual and that’s why we became so open.
‘That’s something that we have to learn from. Credit to Dortmund. We’ve got a lot to think about after that.’
Maeda’s goal had Celtic on level terms for only 94 seconds.
McGregor admitted that Celtic’s inability to consolidate their position wasn’t acceptable.
‘You get yourself back into the game and then the quick goal kills us,’ he added. ‘I think it rattled us a little bit. We then started going alone and trying to win the ball back and came out of our shape a little bit.
Serhou Guirassy bagged a double as the German side ran the visitors ragged
‘When you give good players time on the ball, they’ll kill you and that’s what happened.’
Asked if the team should have been more cautious in their approach, McGregor said: ‘The game plan was to be in between the two.
‘You understand when you are playing against good players that there will be periods when you suffer a little bit without the ball. We have to stick together. We’ve had a good start to the season.
‘We’ve come here, we’ve been sobered a little bit. We’re going to have to take that, keep the group together and try to bounce back in the next game.’