Celtic's Champions League problems examined after seven goals

Celtic were left battered in Dortmund last night after their own ambition to win the game against last year's Champions League finalists backfired in spectacular fashion as the German side beat the Scottish champions 7-1…

That leaves Celtic with three points from two games, but the embarrassing result combined with their earlier 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava means Brendan Rodgers' side are exactly what they expected at this point.

Next up is Atalanta away

Next up is Atalanta away and the defending Europa League champions are arguably an even tougher opponent than Dortmund. If Celtic use the same tactics it could be even more embarrassing for the Celtic fans who arrived in their tens of thousands last night.

Paul Lambert played with great success for both Dortmund and Celtic and today on talkSPORT gave an interesting assessment of the cause of Celtic's misery at the Westfalenstadion.

“I never said it yesterday, but that's exactly what can happen in this stadium. You have to be a really big player there to be able to cope with that atmosphere. If you can't handle it, that's exactly what can happen,” said Lambert, who won the Champions League with Dortmund.

Criticism comes from Celtic

“And I think there will be criticism of Celtic, but I think you have to put it in perspective.”

Lambert believes the lack of quality in Scottish football these days, coupled with the huge financial differences between his two former clubs, had a crucial impact on the result. However, this precludes any debate about the tactical approach which appears to have been the root cause of Celtic's problems.

Lambert added: “Celtic are not playing St Johnstone, not Hibs, not Hearts. They are playing against one team, although five of those eleven teams were in the Champions League final last year.

“So you have to look at it in comparison rather than analyzing it as a fan. I think you have to look at it and say, ‘How did this happen?’ “The standard of football in Scotland is nowhere near the same and that’s a big problem.

The Rangers are an absolute mess at the moment

“I think there is an isolated perception of Scottish football that we have some really good teams but we don’t. The level is no longer there.

“When I played in the game against Sevilla, Martin O'Neill's year was a phenomenal era. Celtic cannot compete financially with Borussia Dortmund. The Rangers are in complete disarray at the moment and therefore can't keep up.

“But you're talking about clubs that are global, worldwide football clubs that can fill any stadium in the world if you give them the ticket base, but there's no way Scottish football can compete with teams like this, Borussia Dortmund, “It’s impossible for them to do it because of the revenue.”

Celtic need to learn to choose their moments

There are factors, but they don't give a complete picture. Celtic need to learn to choose the right moments to apply pressure, when to attack and, more importantly, when to defend. Essentially Celtic played the same way they did against St Johnstone at the weekend, the difference being that Dortmund also played attacking football and Celtic's tactics played into their hands.

As we highlighted today on The Celtic Star, Celtic had only conceded four goals in nine competitive games so far this season. Last night they conceded five goals in 42 minutes, becoming the first British team in 27 years to concede five goals in the first half of a European group stage game.

Conceding seven goals is unacceptable and not an isolated incident, as Dortmund, alongside Barcelona and PSG, concede seven goals to Celtic teams, all managed by Brendan Rodgers. But domestically the team was unstoppable in their two appearances at Celtic.

The key must be to bridge the gap in the Champions League. Celtic have plenty of money and can easily afford to further strengthen the squad in January and next summer.