Brendan Rodgers slammed by Arsenal legend for Celtic mistake

Brendan Rodgers got it wrong against Borussia Dortmund. Most Celtic fans would agree with that view. You almost have to after seeing the Hoops lose 7-1 away at Signal Iduna Park and it could have actually been worse on another night. The Scottish club just did not look like a Champions League side on the night.

They were far too 'naive' in their approach. Now, Rodgers could not have done much about the unavailability of Cameron Carter-Vickers. His replacement, Auston Trusty, looked absolutely lost against Borussia Dortmund and his positioning was all over the place.

But with someone as experienced as Rodgers in the dugout, one would have expected a better strategy from Celtic. Or at least, some mid-match adjustments to make sure that the scoreline did not end up 7-1.

Of course, the players were not good enough. But Rodgers, who has been heavily praised so far this season, deserves his fair share of criticism as well. As reported by the Daily Record, while speaking to the TNT Sports' Goals Show, Martin Keown said:

"You can't keep playing the same way. They didn't adjust. In their own domestic league they are just too good for everyone else and they are not used to being out of possession.

"It's about learning from this but the manager is just as culpable as the players. You don't win on your own and take all the credit for the wins in the domestic league and everyone is saying 'Brendan is a fantastic manager' - it's a joint effort. They are equally to blame here. The manager needs to sort this out with the players.

"You can't go toe-to-toe with some of these European greats. They played in final of the Champions League last year. You have got to adjust. You can't pretend there is not a difference in quality and that's what happened tonight."

Brendan Rodgers slammed by Arsenal legend for Celtic mistake

Questions have been asked about Rodgers' ability to deliver in the Champions League in the past. And this result will not help in that regard. All the positivity coming out of the 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava has been washed away in one swoop.

One cannot argue with the Arsenal legend's assessment here. The aim for Celtic in Europe has to be making it past the first phase. Other clubs with similar budgets have done that in recent years.

But in almost all those cases, it has not been due to them playing a fantastic style of football which has blown the opposition away. No. More often than not, it has been a pragmatic approach which has brought those results. Of course, Celtic should go all out in domestic games. But when it comes to the Champions League, they have to pick their moments and know when, and how, to change up their approach depending on the opposition.