Griezmann and Morata lead Atlético Madrid’s thrashing of 10-man Celtic

“We’re not here just to be a support act,” Brendan Rodgers had said but this time Celtic were not even that good and in all probability they won’t be here at all for very much longer. A crushing 6-0 defeat at Atlético Madrid not only leaves them virtually out of the Champions League, it also leaves them bottom of Group E on a single point, left with little chance of even dropping into the Europa League. Nor was it just the figures, it was the way this felt; theirs was a team taken apart, two goals each from Antoine Griezmann and Álvaro Morata, plus one each for the substitutes Samuel Lino and Saúl Ñíguez underlining a huge gulf between these sides.

If Rodgers had said, not without reason, that his team deserved more than the point with which they arrived in Madrid; if they had indeed had their moments in Rotterdam and against Lazio and Atlético at home; if they had, as he claimed, surprised their opponents with the “quality and intensity” of their football; if, in short, they had competed in their opening three games, here they did not. They could not. Atlético never let them. Nor it must be said, did they help themselves. Atlético had won 15 consecutive games here, so it was going to be hard enough anyway. With 10 men for 70 minutes, it was impossible.