Celtic faced a devastating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid in their Champions League match, leaving them struggling in their group. The match took a turn for the worse when Daizen Maeda received a red card after a VAR review in the first half, with Celtic already trailing to Antoine Griezmann’s deflected goal.
Alvaro Morata and Griezmann both scored twice, and Samuel Lino and Saul Niguez added to Atletico’s impressive second-half goals. The turning point came when Maeda’s challenge caught Mario Hermoso’s shin, resulting in a red card and heated exchanges between both teams’ coaching staff.
With this loss, Celtic now find themselves five points behind third-placed Feyenoord in the group. To have any chance of progressing in the competition, they must win their final two games against Lazio and Feyenoord, while also relying on Atletico’s performance. However, this task is complicated by Maeda and Luis Palma’s suspensions for the next game.
Celtic fielded a familiar lineup from their previous encounter with Atletico, and Griezmann capitalized on a defensive error to score the opening goal early in the match. Despite limited efforts from Celtic, Atletico dominated the game, and Morata added to their lead just before halftime.
The second half saw Atletico’s relentless attacks, with Griezmann, Lino, and Correa all threatening the Celtic goal. Morata struck again, sealing the victory for Atletico with a powerful shot into the roof of the net. The game ended with Niguez scoring Atletico’s sixth goal.
This heavy defeat was a harsh reminder of Celtic’s European challenges, and they now face an uphill battle to progress in the competition.