Celtic star accepts that Borussia Monchengladbach were far superior in their previous Champions League clash

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The German visitors cruised to a crucial win at Celtic Park, and Craig Gordon accepts that his team have to up their standards on Tuesday night.

Celtic’s Craig Gordon and team mates look dejected

Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon has refuted suggestions that Brendan Rodgers’ side were caught cold by Borussia Monchengladbach in their 2-0 Champions League defeat at Celtic Park, the Daily Record reports.

Andre Schubert’s stylish visitors cruised to a comfortable win in Glasgow, Lars Stindl and Andre Hahn profiting from two schoolboy errors from the experienced Kolo Toure to finish emphatically past Gordon and consign Celtic to two defeats from their three games in Group C.

The Hoops’ home defeat has severely dented their chances of reaching the knockout stage of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since 2012/13, with Tuesday’s return fixture against Monchengladbach at Borussia Park taking on extra significance as a result.

However, Gordon has refused to blame a lack of preparation on Rodgers’ behalf, accepting that the Germans were by far the superior outfit during their first meeting

“They were certainly very good,” the former Sunderland shot-stopper told the Daily Record. “We didn’t really get close to them on the night and they thoroughly deserved their win.

“We had watched them on the video and knew they were good players who moved the ball really quickly.

“We prepared for it, but, at the same time, when a team are on their game and everything went well for them, sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say they were better.”

Monchengladbach swarmed all over Celtic in Glasgow, their traditional German counter-attacking proving far too much for a home side whose previous Champions League performances yielded a 7-0 humiliation against Barcelona and a stirring 3-3 draw with Manchester City.

However, Gladbach have won just two of their last seven games in all competitions, their impressive win in Glasgow undermined by a hammering at Schalke and a goalless stalemate at home to Eintracht Frankfurt at the weekend, giving The Hoops hope that they can exact a measure of revenge in North Rhine-Westphalia.