Celtic were handed a Champions League lesson by Borussia Dortmund as Brendan Rodgers's men succumbed to a bruising 7-1 defeat in the Signal Iduna Park Stadium.

It was a sobering night for Celtic who turned in an absolute horror show on their travels once again with a result that outlined the gulf in class between the two sides. Last season's beaten Champions League finalists who were under the new management of Nuri Sahin showed no mercy as they set about the Scottish champions with real gusto as the Bundesliga outfit tore Celtic to shreds by establishing a 5-1 lead by the interval.

Celtic got off to the worst possible start in this one when Kasper Schmeichel was penalised for fouling Jamie Gittens in the box and Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez immediately pointed to the spot as the Danish shot-stopper received a yellow card. Former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can made no mistake from 12 yards crashing the ball high into the net for the opener in seven minutes.

The hosts' joy was short-lived as Celtic restored parity within two minutes when Daizen Maeda snuck in between two Dortmund defenders to bundle home Arne Engels's fantastic delivery to make it 1-1. There wasn't even time to draw breath when Dortmund incredibly went in front again and we had only played 11 minutes.

Karim Adeyemi raced forward and unleashed a speculative shot which took a deflection off Auston Trusty and sent the ball flying past Schmeichel. It was Adeyemi who put the game beyond Celtic's reach after just 29 minutes when he cracked home a beauty from 20 yards that seemed to deceive Schmeichel high at his near right-hand post.

Engels gave away a second penalty on the night for a clumsy high boot on Adeyemi in the box on 39 minutes. Serhou Guirassy did the honours this time from the spot despite Schmeichel guessing the right way he couldn't prevent the ball from hitting the net. Three minutes from the interval Celtic's misery was compounded when Daizen Maeda was guilty of giving the ball away near his penalty area and Adeyemi strides forward to lash another effort past Schmeichel to claim his hat-trick and make it 5-1 on the night.

The second half became a non-event and was all about damage limitation for Celtic and just when they thought they might escape without the concession of any more goals Dortmund made it 6-1 as Guirassy claimed his second of the night. Dortmund substitute Felix Nmecha made it 7-1 just to rub salt in the wounds after Adam Idah had missed a sitter when he failed to convert a close-range header from yards out.

It was a sore one for Rodgers and Celtic as the Irishman chalked up another embarrassing heavy beating entry to his Champions League CV. The visitors arrived in Germany with real optimism but they left with their tails between their legs knowing that they had come up against a ruthless and formidable opponent.

Once again, a Rodgers Celtic team ends up being embarrassed on centre stage. Celtic's wait for a European win on German soil continues and on this showing, it will be some time before it ends.

Kasper Schmeichel had a night to forget in between the sticks

Schmeichel was always going to be a busy goalkeeper against a side of Borussia Dortmund's class. However, it was the 37-year-old who put his side right up against it after he upended Gittens in the box for Can to stick away the resultant penalty inside seven minutes. He did make some decent stops in the opening period from Gittens and Guirassy but they were largely swept away in the maelstrom of poor defending and decision-making from his teammates. The Danish No.1 also seemed to be caught out by Adeyemi's strike for his second which went in high at his near post. One wonders what his father Peter made of it all as he spectated from the TV gantry. Schmeichel learned the hard way that there is a huge difference between competing and not conceding in the Scottish Premiership on a weekly basis to the rarified atmosphere of elite club-level football.

Celtic's £11 million man Arne Engels got the runaround in this exalted company

The Belgian also had an absolute nightmare on a return to a ground that he knows well. He was given the runaround by his Dortmund counterparts and at one point appeared to give Gittens the freedom of Signal Iduna Park to run into. It was a harsh lesson to learn on the biggest stage of all. This was not what the former Augsburg midfielder would have envisaged on his return to Dortmund. He did manage to get one thing right as it was his delicious pass that led to Maeda's equalising goal on the night. It was just a temporary respite for Celtic though as the Yellow and Black shirts soon swarmed all over the 21-year-old again and were in front with two minutes. It was a chastening experience for Engels. The one silver lining if there is one is that he is young enough to learn that it is an unforgiving environment at the Champions League level. He won't need to be told. Things can only get better for Engels.

Daizen Maeda seemed to get the memo but he needed help from his teammates

Maeda looked to have the beating of Yan Couto and he dragged his side back into the contest at 1-1. It was brief though as the stalemate lasted just two minutes. it was a typical Maeda goal It was the third successive game that Maeda had scored in for Celtic including back-to-back Champions League matches. It is the Japanese winger's best run of scoring form since November 2021 through to January 2022. It was also Maeda's sixth goal this season. Ironically Maeda has been recognised for many attributes those being his powerful running and ability to track back and help the defence even late on in matches. However, it is his goalscoring and striking ability that tends to get overlooked at times. Although he remains a valued player both at club and international level.

The heavy defeats are racking up for Brendan Rodgers and Celtic in Europe

Rodgers has previous form for big losses as he has suffered at the hands of Barcelona, PSG and Atletico Madrid in the past. The Irishman came into this game proclaiming that his team were going to be difficult to beat. They were anything but. Sadly this wasn't St Johnstone they were facing but Borussia Dortmund and Celtic were left shellshocked by the whole experience. The 51-year-old just didn't seem to have the answers as devastating Dortmund terrorised his team all evening. Their pace especially along the front line destroyed Celtic and was a joy to watch at times. The hosts even appeared to take pity on the visitors when they replaced Adeyemi on 48 minutes after he got injured but the job was well done by then. Borussia Dortmund punished every Celtic error and the second half was all about damage limitation. It's back to the Champions League drawing board for Rodgers and his men.

Formidable Borussia Dortmund show why they were last season's beaten finalists

Rodgers labelled them formidable and a top, top team pre-match. He wasn't wrong. When you possess the speed and directness that Dortmund have in the final third then they were always going to cause problems for Celtic. Julian Brandt cruelly exposed Celtic's two centre-halves in Auston Trusty and Liam Scales as he stepped off them at will and always seemed to have acres of space to ghost into. Celtic were under the pump but they caused their own problems at times by carelessly giving away needless possession to a team who smelled blood and knew the Scottish champions were ripe for a pasting. Any mistake that Celtic made in possession was pounced upon. Dortmund showed exactly why they were such a threat. They had breathtaking speed in their running and intelligence in their passing. Celtic just couldn't cope. Last season's beaten finalists are a work in progress under Sahin. Dortmund showed why they are on a superior level to Celtic and they could well go deep in this year's tournament.