Borussia Dortmund delivered a crushing blow to Celtic’s Champions League campaign with a dominant 7-1 victory at home, highlighted by Karim Adeyemi’s first-half hat trick.
Celtic arrived in Germany riding high on an undefeated streak across both domestic and European competition but were quickly overrun by Dortmund’s relentless attack.
Emre Can put the hosts ahead early with a penalty, and Adeyemi soon took center stage, scoring three goals and winning a second penalty, which Serhou Guirassy calmly converted. By halftime, Dortmund had raced to a commanding 5-1 lead.
Adeyemi was a constant menace, wreaking havoc on the Celtic defense with his speed and skill, as he repeatedly found spaces to exploit.
His hat trick came in quick succession, starting with a clinical finish from Julian Brandt’s pass, followed by a spectacular shot from a tight angle.
He completed his trio of goals by capitalizing on a defensive error from Celtic. Though Adeyemi was substituted just after the break, his absence did little to ease Celtic’s woes.
Guirassy continued to torment the visitors, scoring a brilliant solo goal before Felix Nmecha rounded out the scoring with a late strike.
Despite a brief equalizer from Daizen Maeda, Celtic struggled to contain Dortmund’s relentless pace and precision throughout the match.
The result matched Dortmund’s biggest win in the competition and left Celtic’s European aspirations in disarray.
The pre-match atmosphere, filled with camaraderie between the two sets of supporters who share a long-standing bond, quickly turned somber for Celtic fans.
Their pyrotechnics had barely cleared when Can converted the opening penalty after Jamie Gittens was brought down by Kasper Schmeichel in the box.
Maeda’s equalizer offered a fleeting moment of hope, but it was swiftly extinguished as Adeyemi took over.
Dortmund’s resounding win propelled them to the top of their group, while Celtic, fresh off a 5-1 triumph in their previous match, found themselves staring at the bottom half of the standings, their hopes of European success dashed for now.
