It was a night to forget for Celtic as a first-half hat-trick from Karim Adayemi helped Borussia Dortmund to a staggering 7-1 win over the Scottish champions at Signal Iduna Park in the UEFA Champions League.
Having fallen behind after just six minutes, Celtic responded well by levelling the game just two minutes later through Daizen Maeda. Unfortunately for the visitors, that was as good as things got.
A first-half hat-trick from Adayemi along with penalties from Emre Can and Serhou Guirassy sent Dortmund into the half-time break with an astonishing 5-1 lead, as Brendan Rodgers' men had no answer to Dortmund's attacking prowess.
Celtic were able to stop the flow of goals momentarily in the second half, but Guirassy and substitute Felix Nmecha were able to capitalise on further Celtic defensive errors to wrap up a memorable 7-1 win for Die Schwarzgelben.
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Story of the Match
Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin named the same starting 11 that came back from 2-0 down to defeat Bochum 4-2 on Friday evening, with English winger Jamie Gittens getting the nod ahead of Donyell Malen in the starting lineup.
Like Dortmund, Celtic also named an unchanged side having dismantled St Johnstone 6-0 on Saturday. The visitors were dealt a blow before kick-off with the news that Cameron Carter-Vickers didn't travel with the squad as he continues to recover from injury, with fellow American international Auston Trusty starting in his absence.
Facing last season's Champions League runners-up in front of their own fans was always going to be a daunting task for Celtic, and that task was made even more difficult after just six minutes when they conceded a penalty. Gittens was brought down by Kasper Schmeichel having found himself through on goal, with the Danish international picking up a yellow card for his troubles.
The Dortmund captain, Can, stepped up and made no mistake from the spot as he powered the ball down the middle to give the hosts an early lead.
Celtic needed a quick response, and that is exactly what they got. Just two minutes later, Can failed to clear a dangerous Arne Engels' cross into the box, and Maeda was on hand to score from close range to level the match and send the visiting fans into raptures.
Unfortunately for those visiting fans, their joy lasted just two minutes as they found their side behind once again. Adayemi was played through on goal by Julian Brandt and saw his shot deflect off the boot of Trusty and past Schmeichel into the roof of the Celtic net.
It was a breathless opening 11 minutes to the match, and Schmeichel was soon called into action once again to deny Guirassy from close range.
The Dane had kept Celtic in the match with the save, although he could do nothing about Adayemi's stinging strike on the 29th minute mark. It looked as though the German was set to cross the ball into the six-yard-box, but instead unleashed a powerful shot which arrowed into the top corner to get his second goal of the match in some style.
The visitors were sloppy in possession and lost the ball in dangerous areas on several occasions, whilst also allowing both Brandt and Pascal Gross plenty of time on the ball.
Things then went from bad to worse for Celtic when they conceded yet another penalty six minutes before half-time after Engels was judged to have kicked Adayemi's foot whilst challenging for the ball in the penalty area.
Can scored the first penalty, and Guirassy followed suit as he dispatched his spot kick past Schmeichel, despite the Dane getting a hand on the ball, to score his fifth goal in five appearances in all competitions this season.
Adayemi then secured his hat-trick on the stroke of the half-time break after he dispossessed Maeda on the edge of the penalty area and unleashed another powerful strike into the bottom corner to make it 5-1, capping off a sensational first-half for The Black and Yellow.
Second Half
To nobody's surprise, Rodgers made two changes at the half to try and change his side's fortunes, with Alex Valle and Reo Hatate coming on for Greg Taylor and Paulo Bernardo.
After a scintillating first-half for Adayemi, his second-half lasted just two minutes after he was forced to be substituted due to what appeared to be a hamstring injury.
Despite losing their main man, Dortmund continued to probe for a sixth goal, with Schmeichel on hand to deny Julian Reyerson and Julien Duranville in quick succession.
Celtic were able to hold out for 20 minutes in the second-half, but were then cut open once again by Sahin's side after giving the ball away cheaply, with Guirassy showing tidy feet inside the penalty area before slotting the ball past Schmeichel to get his second goal of the match and make it 6-1 to the hosts.
If it was a boxing match, the fight would already have been stopped, but since it was a football match, there was enough time for another Dortmund goal as substitute Nmecha got in on the act and capitalized on yet another defensive mistake by Celtic to make it 7-1.
Dortmund took their foot off the gas for the closing stages of the match, with an eye likely on their upcoming Bundesliga clash with Union Berlin on Saturday, and eased to a memorable 7-1 win.
It was an embarrassing night for Celtic, and Rodgers will certainly be looking for a response from his team when they travel to face Ross County in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon.
Player of the Match - Karim Adayemi
He may only have played 47 minutes of the 90, but as far as 47-minute cameos go, it does not get much better than what we saw from Adayemi today.
Celtic had no answer to the German international as he ran the Scottish champions ragged in the first-half. He bagged himself a hat-trick, won his team a penalty, and arguably could have had even more goals to his name.
Luckily for Celtic he had to depart the match early in the second-half due to a hamstring issue, but let us hope it is not a serious injury as Adayemi is a joy to watch when he performs the way he did on the night.
