Celtic suffered a humiliating 6-0 defeat at the hands of Atlético Madrid last night in the fourth game of their Champions League group campaign. It was a result that ensures Celtic remain at the foot of Group E and a performance that captain Callum McGregor described as “humbling” and embarrassing”.
Those two words have often come to epitomise Celtic’s European endeavours over the last few years and it was an all-too-familiar story replayed in Madrid on Tuesday evening.
The outcome had a sense of inevitability around it following Daizen Maeda’s controversial red card and it was a costly moment that turned an already titanic task into a virtual impossibility.
Here are A Celtic State of Mind’s player ratings following yesterday’s annihilation:
Joe Hart – 5
Hart made some good saves as the Hoops entered damage limitation mode towards the end of the first-half, but he made a costly error when he opted to punch the Atleti corner rather than claiming it relatively unchallenged, a misjudgement that indirectly led to the home side’s opening goal. He was trying his best, but the sheer amount of pressure being placed on the Celtic backline proved to be far too much.
Alistair Johnston – 3
For probably the first time ever in a Celtic shirt, Johnston looked uncomfortable and out of his depth as Rodrigo Riquelme caused problem after problem for the Canadian full-back. He was caught out for the first two goals on the night, not coming closer to his marker for the first and losing Alvaro Morata for their second on the stroke of half-time.
Cameron Carter-Vickers – 4
Caused plentiful problems by Atleti’s star attackers as it was a deflection off of the American that diverted the ball out of Hart’s path for their opening goal. he made a few good blocks in the first-half but the floodgates ultimately began to open in the second-half.
Liam Scales – 4
It was a night to forget for the Irishman as a combination of himself and Johnston’s misjudgment allowed Morata to slip in for Atleti’s second. He hadn’t put much of a foot wrong in the UCL campaign but it was a humbling experience for everyone wearing Celtic colours last night.
Greg Taylor – 3
It was a nervy display from the left-back who struggled to get a grip of the game from the first whistle. Nahuel Molina breezed past him time and time again which led to the Celtic defence being exposed constantly due to the danger in the wide areas.
Matt O’Riley – 5
O’Riley didn’t live up the the player-of-the-match display he produced in the home fixture, turning in one of his poorest displays of the season as he struggled to get a foothold in the contest. He was substituted at half-time for Odin Thiago Holm.
Callum McGregor – 4
The captain was a shadow in the midfield as he was bypassed time and time again by the Atleti midfielders. His poor clearance led to Atleti’s first and he was substituted with 20 minutes to go.
Paulo Bernardo – 4
Much like the rest of his midfield counterparts, the game really passed the Portuguese loanee by. He was substituted on 71 minutes.
Daizen Maeda – 3
Maeda started positively but was sent off 23 minutes in after his yellow card was controversially updated to a red for a challenge on Mario Hermoso, a dismissal that ultimately led to the result we saw yesterday.
Kyogo Furuhashi – 4
It was a quiet night for Kyogo who was starved of service at the Wanda Metropolitano. He was unable to add to his scoring spree in the last two European fixtures and was hooked on 61 minutes.
Luis Palma – 4
The Honduran tried to make things happen but received a silly yellow card for dissent which means he will miss the trip to Rome to face Lazio on the next matchday.
Oh Hyeon-gyu – 4
Brought on at half-time to try and make a difference but despite putting in the work, he didn’t get much of a chance in attack.
Odin Thiago Holm – 4
It was another hard night in Europe for Holm as he was chasing shadows for the majority of his substitute appearance.
Yang Hyun-jun – 3
Didn’t really influence the game in the 30 minutes he was on the park as Celtic were constantly on the back foot.
David Turnbull – 3
Turnbull didn’t impact the game when he was brought on with 30 to play.
Tomoki Iwata – 3
The Japanese utility man replaced captain McGregor but didn’t have much involvement in the game in the 20 minutes he got on the park.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
Notice: Undefined index: src in /home/acsom/public_html/wp-content/themes/u-design/scripts/post-thumbnail.php on line 76
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.