Nuri Sahin made bold claim to Brendan Rodgers after Celtic vs Dortmund

A lot was made of the dynamic between Brendan Rodgers and Nuri Sahin leading up to the Borussia Dortmund vs Celtic game at Signal Iduna Park. The former Turkish international had been on loan at Anfield when the Northern Irishman was Liverpool manager. It did not work out and was cut short in the middle of the campaign.

More than a decade later, there do not seem to be any hard feelings though. Sahin had only positive things to say about Rodgers leading up to the game though.

The contest at Signal Iduna Park did not go as Rodgers would have hoped. After winning 5-1 against Slovan Bratislava in their opening game, it was two steps back for Celtic, as they lost 7-1 to Borussia Dortmund.

It would have been a closer contest if the game had been played at Celtic Park. In fact, it looks like Sahin would have preferred that. Rodgers said in a media conference on the club's YouTube channel:

"Speaking to Nuri after the game, that was something that they would’ve actually preferred, the game to have been at Celtic Park. As would I. But it wasn’t to be."

Nuri Sahin made bold claim to Brendan Rodgers after Celtic vs Dortmund

Most feel that teams like Celtic have been given a better chance to qualify for the next round, thanks to the change in the format of the Champions League. But it also means that there is no home and away system in the first phase of the competition.

It would have been interesting to see how Celtic would have done at home against Borussia Dortmund. In recent years, they have put in some promising displays against top opposition at Parkhead.

Last season, they drew 2-2 against Atletico Madrid. The year before that, they went toe-to-toe with and outperformed Real Madrid in the first half only to lose 3-0 by the end. In the 21/22 campaign, they defeated Real Betis despite playing a B-Team on that occasion.