After barely two hours, Kasper Schmeichel concedes he was able to ignore the misery caused by Celtic’s shattering 7-1 Champions League loss to Borussia Dortmund. However, he maintains that the way in which the team was thrashed can serve as a benchmark for the remainder of the campaign.
The incredibly seasoned No. 1 is intent on moving on and putting the painful defeat behind him as soon as possible by utilizing an early low moment in his Hoops career to his team’s advantage.
Schmeichel believes that something positive could emerge of the outcome in the future, even though he was a part of a devastated away changing room in Germany on Tuesday night. In three weeks, Celtic will go to Bergamo to play Atalanta in the Champions League, and he knows that performance standards must simply increase.
“That’s life—this game has an amazing way of bringing you back down to earth sometimes,” the 37-year-old remarked. However, we must also keep the wider picture in mind. The season has gotten off to a good start. Clearly, there is a lesson to be learned from this.
In the world of football, one might experience both extreme highs and lows, but one must rapidly move on from each. I’ve always had a rule in my job that says I can feel whatever I want till midnight. That is, happiness derived from victory or heartbreak resulting from defeat. But we continue after midnight.
“This weekend, Ross County is the focus. Dortmund is a capable group. They caught us on our worst day, and we caught them on their best. It was one of those nights when everything went according to plan. We’ve had plenty of days like that ourselves this season already.
But right now, taking our medication is the most crucial thing. As long as you accept the compliments, as we have this season, it’s all good. When we receive a result like this, we also have to accept it. Right now, the answer is what matters most to me. Now, how do we heal? Having a fantastic start to the season is all well and good, but we must feel this one out because it stings before moving on to Sunday.
“We have to move on quickly. The most important thing from a night like Tuesday is to learn from it. If you do, it can even be a good thing. It’s something to refer to — remember that night? Remember what happened, because if we’re not 100% focused on it every single minute, that’s what can happen. I’m hoping we can turn it into a positive. That’s our responsibility as the leadership group,” Schmeichel said.
“As I usually say, there’s no easy football. If it was easy then everyone would do it. In this game, you have to earn everything. You won’t just receive anything from anyone. We achieved the same kind of outcome in Dortmund as we have several times earlier this season.
“Thoughtless night, but since I joined the club, everything has been great. This is the kind of unusual outcome that occasionally occurs. We’ve never lost this season before. It won’t undermine the faith. We are two games into an eight-game campaign in the Champions League — there’s a long way to go.”
Concerns have been expressed regarding Rodgers’ strategies in Dortmund after the Northern Irishman acknowledged that his team was “spooked” early on and that they were not compact enough. But again, Celtic’s ignorance against a superior Champions League team was evident, as Rodgers’ first season in charge saw a 7-0 thumping by Barcelona and a 7-1 demolition by PSG.
The Danish international responded, “There’s always a debate,” when asked if adopting a more practical strategy is necessary to prevent further crushing losses on the world stage. But this season, that strategy has worked incredibly well for us. There are instances when you simply face a foe that has everything going for them. It was one of those outcomes that occasionally occurs.
“I’ve had the good fortune to experience some of them firsthand. It seems like everything the opposition hits gets through at times. To attain this kind of outcome, they get lucky or have good fortune on their side. However, it’s not a result that accurately represents our group.
We must keep in mind that the season has gotten off to a great start for us. For now, we just have to accept it. It isn’t our identity or our past. It’s necessary to balance the smooth and the rough. This season, we have spent a lot of time on the other side.
