Forward Antoine Griezmann netted a brace, including a spectacular bicycle kick in the second half, helping Atletico demolish Celtic 6-0 in the fourth round of the Champions League Group E.
At the Metropolitano stadium on November 7th, Griezmann started the match and was substituted by Saul Niguez in the 65th minute. In just over half an hour on the pitch, the French forward touched the ball 74 times, with an 88% passing accuracy, five key passes, three crosses, six shots, and two goals. He received a Sofascore rating of 9.8, the highest in the match.
In the 6th minute, from a poor clearance by a Celtic player, Griezmann controlled the ball just outside the penalty area and scored with a precise angled shot into the far corner, beyond the reach of goalkeeper Joe Hart, opening the scoring. In the 60th minute, also from a poorly cleared header on the home team’s side, Griezmann executed a spectacular bicycle kick, making Hart dive helplessly to complete his brace and extend Atletico’s lead to 3-0.
This was the first time the 32-year-old striker scored in three consecutive matches in the Champions League. Prior to that, he contributed a goal in a 2-2 draw away to Celtic in the third round and a goal in a 3-2 victory against Feyenoord at home. In total, Griezmann has scored 33 goals in 89 matches in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
At the Metropolitano on the previous day, Atletico played with an extra man from the 23rd minute, when Daizen Maeda made a dangerous tackle on Mario Hermoso. Initially, referee Ivan Kruzliak showed a yellow card to the Japanese player. However, after reviewing the video footage on the sideline, he changed his decision and sent Maeda off.
With a numerical advantage early on, Atletico dominated comprehensively. Throughout the 90 minutes, the home team had 66% possession, took 27 shots with 12 on target, while Celtic managed only one shot. In addition to Griezmann, Alvaro Morata also scored a brace, and Llorente and Saul Niguez each added a goal to help the La Liga representatives win convincingly.
The 6-0 victory against Celtic is Atletico’s most lopsided win in the Champions League. It is also their second-largest winning margin in European competitions, following an 8-0 demolition of Irish club Drumcondra in the 1958 European Cup.
In the other match in Group E, Lazio defeated Feyenoord with a solitary goal from Ciro Immobile. With these results, Atletico lead the group with eight points, followed by Lazio and Feyenoord with one and two points, respectively, while Celtic is at the bottom with one point.
In the next round on November 28th, Atletico will face Feyenoord away, and Lazio will take on Celtic.
The starting lineup:
Atletico: Oblak; Gimenez (Soyuncu 77′), Witsel, Hermoso; Molina (Azpilicueta 65′), Rivas (Llorente 46′), Koke, Griezmann (Saul 65′), Riquelme (Lino 65′); Morata, Correa.
Celtic: Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Bernardo (Turnbull 61′), McGregor (Iwata 71′), O’Riley (Holm 46′); Palma (Oh Hyeon-Gyu 46′), Furuhashi (Yang Hyun-Jun 61′), Maeda.
