MOTM Poll: Karim Adeyemi Scores Hat Trick as Dortmund Decimate Celtic 7-1

With 20 goals scored and 0 conceded in Celtic’s first six league matches, I feared what could happen when the Glasgow-based giant visited Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday night. Dortmund had to pick themselves up from a shaky performance against VfL Bochum, And I think I’m right in saying that no Dortmund fan could have predicted what would happen over the course of the next 90 minutes.

The scoreline was opened quickly when Kasper Schmeichel snatched the legs of Jamie Gittens inside the penalty box after just 7 minutes, with Can securely banging the shot in the middle of the goal for 1-0. Shortly after, in the 9th minute, Dortmund found themselves level 1-1 after Daizen Maeda managed to scrape a cross across the goal line after a very suspect clearing-attempt from Emre Can. What happened next can only be described as Karim Adeyemi somehow ascending and become the one true football God no one expected he could be. He took three very impressive finishes (the first one with a bit of luck), resulting in three goals and won a penalty for Serhou Guirassy to convert with a hard shot in the far left corner.

After the break, Dortmund managed to keep control of the game, while being less threatening towards Celtic’s goal. When it looked like the second half might end scoreless, Serhou Guirassy popped up with a very impressive goal as a result from some quick footwork and a quick-taken finish inside the box. Felix Nmecha put the icing on the cake in the 79th minute after hammering a badly cleared ball into the far left corner from the edge of the box, nutmegging two Celtic defenders in the process.

There is so much to unpack for this game, and more than four players could indeed be nominees for MOTM. These are the ones I’ve chosen:

Karim Adeyemi

There’s no way around it. This was Karim Adeyemi’s best performance in a Dortmund shirt, and probably in his whole career. The young German was everywhere on the pitch, receiving balls in the middle of the pitch, making deep runs, tracking back to help out defensively, won a penalty, all while scoring three goals in the process. All his goals demonstrated an elite finishing ability that hadn’t really surfaced up until this point. The first 45 minutes was the Karim Adeyemi show, and it was one of the best offensive individual performances I’ve witnessed from a BVB player in a very long time. Let’s hope his injury isn’t too serious, because what we saw from Adeyemi today was simply unstoppable.

Photo by Geert van Erven/Socrates/Getty Images

Julian Brandt

If Karim Adeyemi was the leading role in the first half, Brandt was the epic sidekick that doesn’t get all the credit but was an integral part of the success of the hero. Brandt was in inspired form today. His through-ball for Adeyemi’s first goal was brilliant, and he was the metronome in the middle of the field that we all know he can be. Brandt simply kept Dortmund’s tempo quick, and Celtic’s midfielders couldn’t lay a hand on him.

Serhou Guirassy

Have Dortmund finally found the striker they’ve been searching for since the departure of Erling Haaland? Is it too early to declare Serhou Guirassy as the real deal? A well taken penalty and a ridiculous self-made goal in the box only tells half the story of what Guirassy brings onto the pitch. Someone mentioned that it’s almost like having an equally good no. 9 and no. 10 fused into one player, and I couldn’t agree more. Guirassy is simply brilliant. Good at involving himself in the buildup, good at finishing and good at winning duels. You can’t ask for more.

Photo by Max Maiwald/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Emre Can

I’ve been (and still am) quite vocal in my criticism of Can, but his last two matches for BVB has shown a side of him that I thought was long gone. Can tracked back well, was aggressive in his duels and looked to progress the ball quickly whenever he received it. My theory is, that Sahin has simply told him to stop taking so much time on the ball. Sahin has voiced his urge for quick passing, possessive football, and it looks like Can has gotten the memo. In this game, he did have one rather unfortunate action that resulted in Celtic’s goal, but honestly, he did so well for the most part that I’m happy to nominate him.

Your Thoughts?

Who did you vote for? And why was it Karim Adeyemi? Let me know in the comments below!