With nine consecutive wins in all competitions under their belt, Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic squad arrived in Germany brimming with confidence ahead of their Bigger Cup clash against Borussia Dortmund. The team had only conceded four goals all season while scoring 33, with nearly half of those goals coming in their last three matches against St Johnstone, Falkirk, and Slovan Bratislava. Having dispatched such formidable opponents with ease, Rodgers was optimistic about the new "mindset, belief, and experience" he believed would aid his team in their quest for their first competitive win on German soil in 15 attempts.
"I think we've also added some players that give us something in key areas of the pitch that we need," Rodgers said, clearly pleased. His approach to the Dortmund match, however, seemed more suited to a domestic cup tie against Bonnyrigg Rose or East Fife rather than facing last season's Bigger Cup runners-up at the Westfalenstadion. It remains uncertain what Rodgers expected his players to provide in those key areas, but it certainly wasn't repeated possession of the ball for their hosts. The result? Dortmund ruthlessly scored seven goals against Celtic, marking yet another disheartening European night for the Scottish side.
Big Paper's football correspondent described the match as "like a grand master playing an orangutan at chess," but Football Daily respectfully disagrees, suggesting that such a comparison unfairly diminishes the intelligence of our famously clever primate friends. One such orangutan, in fact, had a chess opening named after her due to her advice to Polish grand master Savielly Tartakower before a match in New York in 1924.
Celtic had arrived in Dortmund riding a wave of misplaced confidence from their previous thrashing of Slovan Bratislava. Unsurprisingly, the Slovak champions suffered another beating, this time at the hands of Manchester City. Between qualifiers and group games, Bratislava had already played 10 matches in this season's Bigger Cup, with their July win over North Macedonian champions Struga now a distant memory. Given the new format and 36-team table of the Bigger Cup, regular thrashings were always on the cards, especially considering that Bratislava's main tormentor, Jérémy Doku, is worth more than twice the entire home squad's value.
While Barcelona and Inter Milan also inflicted pain on lesser opponents, the most intriguing thrashing of the Bigger Cup was undoubtedly the one RB Salzburg suffered at the hands of Brest. Despite being outplayed for long periods, Brest managed to score four goals against the run of play and without reply. The team with the lowest UEFA ranking in this season's Bigger Cup, Brest, currently sits joint-top of the 36-team group table, akin to a small but mighty Napoleonic giant. Speaking of Napoleon, we have an interesting story about his old barge, which is now housed in the Brest Naval Museum. But since we've already shared an unexpected tale about a great ape's contribution to chess tactics, that anecdote will have to wait for another day.
Join Taha Hashim at 8pm BST for Bigger Cup updates on Aston Villa 1-3 Bayern Munich, while Will Unwin will provide goal updates on Liverpool 3-0 Bologna and more in his rolling clockwatch. Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today's prizeless letter of the day winner is... Steve Malone (just in case you were wondering). Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here. Tune in to the latest episode of Football Weekly Extra, available now.
