In a Champions League game that will be remembered for all the wrong reasons, Celtic endured a shocking night as Borussia Dortmund triumphed 7-1. The game, held at the famous Signal Iduna Park, saw cameras capture a visibly distressed Peter Schmeichel watching his son Kasper come under incessant attack in the Celtic goal.
The game began with a frantic pace as former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can converted from the penalty spot in the opening minutes after Schmeichel had fouled Jamie Gittens. But the Scottish team tried to respond quickly and Daizen Maeda scored an equalizer shortly afterwards, which temporarily lifted their spirits. But the joy didn’t last long, as Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi found the net twice in quick succession, quickly restoring the home team’s dominance.
As the first half progressed, Adeyemi’s hat-trick left Celtic’s defense reeling and Serhou Guirassy made it 4-1 from the penalty spot just before half-time, leaving the visitors with a daunting task.
Despite the rising score, Kasper Schmeichel showed determination by making several impressive saves that hinted at a potentially worse fate for the Scottish champions. But after the break, Guirassy added to the misery before Felix Nmecha completed a comfortable win in the final minutes of the game.
Throughout the game, Peter Schmeichel’s frustration was evident from his seat high in the stands as he struggled with the agony of watching his son struggle amid a barrage of Dortmund attacks. Speaking to CBS Sports after the game, the legendary goalkeeper shared his feelings about Kaspar’s challenging night: “It’s incredibly hard, you always want the best for your kids no matter what,” he expressed.
He continued: “Today was just one of those inexplicable days. There were so many shots and seven of them found the net. As Callum McGregor told me, it was just one of those nights where they failed to stop them effectively.”
Peter Schmeichel’s advice to his son was clear: “I told Kasper when he came off the pitch: ‘It was a bad day at the office. Take it as it is, move on and be a leader in the locker room to help the team recover from this setback.’”
At the age of 37, Schmeichel Jr joined Celtic this summer on a one-year contract, having previously played at Nice and Anderlecht following an illustrious 11-year career at Leicester City.
