Celtic’s crushing 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund is yet another painful reminder of the chasm between their domestic dominance and European struggles. The Bhoys have faced this harsh reality before, suffering heavy defeats at the hands of Barcelona, PSG, and Atletico Madrid on big European nights. Under Brendan Rodgers, it seems like a recurring cycle—Celtic breezes through Scottish competition, only to be completely outclassed when they step onto the continental stage.

But let’s be clear—this isn’t about seeking sympathy or making excuses. What Celtic endures in Europe is a mirror image of what we inflict on teams in the SPFL. We dominate possession, dictate the tempo, and leave opponents chasing shadows, surviving on scraps. For the rest of the league, watching us get dismantled by Europe’s elite must feel like poetic justice, a cathartic release from the dominance we impose week in and week out.

But let me make one thing crystal clear—this isn’t about asking for sympathy or making excuses for Celtic’s struggles on the European stage. What happens to us in Europe is simply the reverse of what we do to teams in the SPFL every week. Domestically, Celtic are the giant, the team that imposes its will, controls possession, and suffocates the opposition with relentless pressure. We pass them off the park, overwhelm them with our quality, and leave them to feed off scraps. It’s a level of dominance that’s almost routine at this point. For teams in the SPFL, facing Celtic often feels like an exercise in damage control, trying to minimize the inevitable defeat rather than genuinely competing for a win.

When Celtic step onto the European stage, however, the roles are reversed in dramatic fashion. Suddenly, we’re the underdog, the team that’s out of its depth against Europe’s finest. We find ourselves chasing shadows, starved of possession, and exposed by teams that operate on a completely different level. The brutal truth is that, just as we dismantle teams in Scotland, the likes of Barcelona, PSG, Atletico Madrid, and most recently Borussia Dortmund have done the same to us. It’s a harsh, humbling experience, one that serves as a stark reminder of the gulf between the Scottish Premiership and the European elite.

In many ways, watching Celtic struggle on these big European nights must be a cathartic experience for the rest of the league. For clubs who spend most of their domestic campaigns trying to contain us, seeing Celtic get dismantled on the continent must feel like poetic justice, a role reversal that offers a brief respite from the relentless dominance we impose back home. After all, they know exactly how it feels to be on the receiving end of a team that outclasses you at every turn.

This cycle of domestic dominance and European struggle is not new, and it’s something Celtic fans have grown painfully familiar with, particularly under Brendan Rodgers. While we are virtually untouchable in Scotland, our inability to translate that success into European competition is a reality we can’t ignore. European nights are a different beast altogether, and until we can find a way to bridge that gap, we will continue to be humbled by Europe’s giants in the same way we humble teams in the SPFL.