Celtic suffered a Champions League nightmare going down 6-0 to Atletico Madrid, with the early dismissal of Daizen Maeda in the first half effectively ending the game as a contest.
Atletico took an early lead when Antoine Griezmann struck from the edge of the area after 5 minutes. The ball fell to the French forward, whose shot took a deflection on it’s way in off Cameron Carter Vickers which proved crucial in wrong footing Joe Hart.
Celtic’s task was then made even more difficult when they were reduced to 10 men mid-way through the first half. Daizen Maeda was initially booked for his challenge on Mario Hermoso but after consulting the VAR monitor it was upgraded to a straight red.
Griezmann then turned provider as the hosts doubled their advantage in stoppage time at the end of the half. Operating in a deeper role, he popped up wide on the right before switching the ball with razor sharp precision on to the head of Jose Giminez, who found Alvaro Morata to make it 2-0 from close range.
It could have gotten worse for the visitors before the break were it not for an reflex save from Hart, tipping over Matt O’Riley’s clearance deflected back towards his own goal off of Correa.
Griezmann continued to turn on the style in the second half, adding his second of the night on the hour mark with an acrobatic volley as Diego Simeone’s side flexed their man advantage.
The forward was replaced before he could complete his hattrick by Samuel Lino. The home fans didn’t need to wait long to celebrate again however, the Brazilian was only on the park a matter of moments before curling in a stunning effort beyond the palms of Hart.
Celtic couldn’t contain Atletico as they dominated the Scottish champions and added a fifth with 15 minutes left on the clock. Morata picked up the ball just outside the box before teeing himself up and cracking an excellent volley into the top right hand corner.
Substitute Saul Niguez netted a sixth from close range on 85 minutes as Celtic’s miserable evening in Madrid finally came to a close, leaving them with a mountain to climb to secure European football after Christmas.
