Nuri Sahin: 7-1 win over Celtic has to be the benchmark for Borussia Dortmund

Nuri Sahin believes that Borussia Dortmund showcased what they are capable of during their 7-1 win over Celtic, and he wants the performance to be their benchmark.

Borussia Dortmund issued an emphatic statement of their Champions League credentials on Tuesday evening by claiming a 7-1 win over Celtic. Led by a hat-trick from Karim Adeyemi and a brace from Serhou Guirassy, the Black and Yellows cruised to victory and stormed to the top of the CL table.

Nuri Sahin hails Borussia Dortmund's counter-pressing in win over Celtic

It was easily one of Borussia Dortmund's best attacking performances in recent years, and it came just two weeks after the team's 5-1 defeat to VfB Stuttgart. Nuri Sahin compared Tuesday's game to the display against Stuttgart, and spoke about how the performance against Celtic must now be their benchmark.

"Of course I'm extremely happy, but I can also put the game in Stuttgart into perspective," Sahin told Amazon Prime Video after the game. "What makes me happiest is how hard the boys up front worked. You score goals like that when you start like that up front. In Stuttgart, we didn't have those moments with the consistent counter-pressing. We were always on the move [on Tuesday]. Then with that pace and quality we have up front, we're hard to beat."

"What I really liked is that we clearly said we can lose duels, but not the way we did in Stuttgart. I'm glad that we've taken positive steps in our development. This has to be the benchmark."

Borussia Dortmund will now hope to build on this performance and claim their first away win of the season in the Bundesliga on Saturday as they take on Union Berlin.

Next up for BVB in the Champions League is a trip to Real Madrid, a repeat of last season's UEFA Champions League final and arguably their toughest test of the league phase. And Nuri Sahin's side will certainly be determined to gain a measure of revenge against the Spanish giants.