Celtic vs Atlético de Madrid match facts

Celtic are still to get off the mark in UEFA Champions League Group E as they welcome section leaders Atlético de Madrid – a side they have never beaten in six previous attempts.

The Scottish champions followed a 2-0 opening defeat at Dutch counterparts Feyenoord – a game they ended with nine players – with a 1-2 home defeat against Lazio, the decisive goal coming five minutes into added time.

Atleti had suffered their own late disappointment against the Italian club on Matchday 1, conceding an equaliser to home goalkeeper Ivan Provedel with the final kick to draw 1-1 in Rome, but bounced back by twice coming from behind to beat Feyenoord 3-2 in Madrid.

Previous meetings 

Celtic wins 0
Atlético wins 4
Draws 2
Celtic goals 2
Atlético goals 8

The most recent of the sides' six meetings came in the 2011/12 UEFA Europa League group stage, Atlético winning 2-0 in Madrid on Matchday 1 thanks to goals from Radamel Falcao (3) and Diego (68) before Arda Turan (30) got the only goal at Celtic Park on Matchday 5.

James Forrest started both games for Celtic with Koke in Atlético's starting line-up in Madrid.

Atlético, with Diego Simeone replacing Gregorio Manzano as coach after the group stage, went on to finish top of Group I on 13 points and eventually claimed the trophy under Simeone; Celtic were eliminated in third place in the section on six points.

The Spanish side had reached their first European Cup final at Celtic's expense, a 0-0 draw in Glasgow in the first leg of the teams' 1973/74 semi-final preceding a 2-0 home win in Madrid thanks to late goals from José Eulogio Gárate (77) and Adelardo Rodríguez (85).

Atlético went on to lose to Bayern München in the only European Cup final to be settled by a replay.

Los Colchoneros were 3-2 aggregate winners against Celtic in the 1985/86 European Cup Winners' Cup first round, the first leg in Madrid finishing 1-1 after Quique Setién's 34th-minute opener for the home side was cancelled out in the second half by Mo Johnston (69).

Setién again scored first at Celtic Park, giving the visitors a 38th-minute advantage that was added to by Quique Ramos in the 73rd minute and that was enough despite Roy Aitken's 75th-minute reply for the Scottish side.

Atlético got as far as the final that season, losing 3-0 to Dynamo Kyiv in Lyon.

Form guide

Celtic

Record vs Spanish clubs: W8 D5 L23 F28 A65
Home records vs Spanish clubs: W8 D2 L8

Celtic kicked off last season's Champions League group stage with a 3-0 loss at home to Atlético's neighbours Real Madrid, and also went down 5-1 in Spain on Matchday 6.

The Hoops had beaten Real Betis 3-2 in their previous home game against Spanish visitors, in the 2021/22 Europa League group stage. That was their eighth win against Liga opponents, both at home and overall.

That win against Betis is the only one of Celtic's last ten games against Spanish sides that did not end in defeat – they conceded 31 goals in those ten matches, scoring five.

Celtic have scored in only one of their last five fixtures at home to Spanish clubs – that defeat of Betis.

Celtic are in the Champions League group stage for the 12th time, one more than local rivals Rangers, and the second season in a row.

The Bhoys returned to the group stage for the first time in five seasons in 2022/23, but finished bottom of Group F having failed to win a game. Their only points came from two 1-1 draws against Shakhtar Donetsk, holders Real Madrid and Leipzig beating them home and away.

The first British club to win the European Cup in 1967, and runners-up to Feyenoord three years later, Celtic have reached the Champions League knockout stages three times, all those campaigns ending in the round of 16, most recently in 2012/13 against Juventus (0-3 h, 0-2 a).

Celtic are without a home in 11 home Champions League group games, since a 2-1 defeat of Ajax on Matchday 4 in 2013/14; their record since then is D2 L9.

A 3-0 win at Anderlecht on Matchday 2 in 2017/18 is one of only two Celtic victories in their last 28 games in the Champions League, group stage to final (D5 L21).

Celtic claimed their 53rd Scottish League title, and an 11th in 12 seasons, in 2022/23, Ange Postecoglou's side finishing on 99 points, seven above runners-up Rangers. The Hoops also won the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup, claiming the domestic treble for the eighth time and a fifth in seven seasons.

Postecoglou departed for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, Brendan Rodgers – who was previously in charge at Celtic between May 2016 and February 2019, winning two league titles, two Scottish Cups and three Scottish League Cups – returning as his replacement on a three-year contract.

Atlético de Madrid

Record vs Scottish clubs: W6 D2 L1 F14 A4
Away record vs Scottish clubs: W2 D1 L1

Aside from their six games against Celtic, Atlético have faced Scottish sides only three times.

They suffered their only defeat in their first match, going down 2-1 at Heart of Midlothian in the 1993/94 UEFA Cup first round first leg, although they still won the tie thanks to a 3-0 victory in the home return.

Atleti also beat Aberdeen 2-0 in Madrid in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup group stage.

Atlético are making their 14th Champions League group appearance and an 11th in succession. They have featured every season since 2013/14.

Runners-up in 2014 and 2016, both against Real Madrid, Simeone's side failed to progress from their section for the first time in five seasons in 2022/23. However, unlike on the previous occasion in 2017/18, when they went on to win the Europa League, Atleti bowed out of Europe altogether having finished bottom of Group B.

Atlético opened last season's Champions League campaign with a 2-1 home win against Porto – all three goals coming in added time, a competition first – but failed to win a game after that (D2 L3).

That was the first time Atlético had finished bottom of their Champions League group.

The Matchday 2 defeat of Feyenoord this season was only Simeone's side's third win in their last 12 Champions League group stage matches (D3 L6).

Atlético have won four of their last 11 away matches in the Champions League, losing six of the other seven, including four in a row before drawing at Lazio on Matchday 1. That was only the second time they had scored in their last five away matches, the other in a 2-1 defeat at Porto on Matchday 6 last season.

The Colchoneros were third in La Liga for the second successive season in 2022/23, finishing 11 points behind champions Barcelona and one behind Real Madrid.

Links and trivia

Joe Hart and Stefan Savić were Premier League champions together at Manchester City in 2011/12.

Rodgers was Çağlar Söyüncü's manager at Leicester between August 2018 and April this year.

César Azpilicueta scored past Hart as Chelsea were held 1-1 at home by West Ham in the Premier League on 13 April 2018. Álvaro Morata was also in the Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge.

Azpilicueta has played 15 times against teams managed by Rodgers: seven games against Liverpool and eight against Leicester. The Spaniard's record is W7 D7 L1, the solitary defeat a 1-0 Leicester win in the FA Cup final on 15 May 2021.

Morata scored a late winner past Hart as Juventus triumphed 2-1 at Manchester City on Matchday 1 of the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League group stage.

Morata came on to set up two late goals as Spain battled back to earn a 2-2 friendly draw against Hart's England on 15 November 2016.

Daizen Maeda was on the winning side as Japan beat Spain 2-1 in the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stage. Morata had given Spain the lead.

Memphis Depay scored the only goal as the Netherlands beat a Scotland team including Forrest and Callum McGregor in an Aberdeen friendly on 9 November 2017. The Dutch forward then got both his side's goals in another friendly, a 2-2 draw in Loulé, Portugal, against a Scotland side that included David Turnbull, Greg Taylor, Forrest and McGregor.

Forrest and Axel Witsel were on opposing sides as Belgium won 2-0 at Glasgow's Hampden Park in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier on 6 September 2013.

Morata captained Spain to a 2-0 UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying win at home to Scotland on 12 October in Seville. The Atletico forward opened the scoring in the 73rd minute against a Scotland side for whom McGregor started with Taylor an unused substitute.

On 17 October, Celtic's Taylor and Atlético's Antoine Griezmann both started as France beat Scotland 4-1 in a friendly in Lille.

Latest news

Celtic

Brendan Rodgers celebrated his 700th game as a manager with a 3-1 win at home to Kilmarnock on 7 October, Celtic's fifth successive league victory.

The Hoops made it six on Sunday with a 4-1 victory at Heart of Midlothian. Their record in this season's Scottish Premiership is now W8 D1.

Matt O'Riley opened the scoring with his sixth league goal of the season. He is Celtic's top scorer in this season's Scottish Premiership, one ahead of Kyogo Furuhashi, who got the third goal on Sunday.

Substitute Tomoki Iwata completed the scoring with his first Celtic goal.

Luis Palma had scored in Celtic's previous two league fixtures.

On 20 October Rodgers was named Scottish Premiership manager of the month for September, with O'Riley taking the player award.

Celtic relinquished their hold on the Scottish League Cup on 20 August, losing 0-1 at Kilmarnock. They had won the trophy six times in the previous seven seasons.

Furuhashi scored in Japan's 2-0 friendly victory against Tunisia on 17 October with Reo Hatate also in the starting line-up.

Four days earlier Furuhashi and Hatate had both come on as substitutes in a 4-1 friendly win against a Canada side including Celtic team-mate Alistair Johnston.

Liam Scales made his Republic of Ireland debut in a 2-0 UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying defeat by Greece on 13 October. Michael Johnston marked his first Ireland start with a goal in a 4-0 away win against Gibraltar three days later.

Gustaf Lagerbielke scored his first goal for Sweden in their 3-1 win over Moldova on 12 October.

O'Riley was called up to the Denmark squad for the first time for the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers against Kazakhstan and San Marino, although he did not make an appearance.

Against Kilmarnock on 7 October, Cameron Carter-Vickers made his first start since 13 August after recovering from a hamstring injury. He also played 90 minutes on Sunday.

Stephen Welsh has not played since a 3-1 win in Aberdeen on 13 August due to a knee problem.

Liel Abada sustained a thigh injury in training with Israel on 8 September and is expected to be out for three to four months.

Atlético 

Atlético have won six games in a row in all competitions. On Saturday an Antoine Griezmann hat-trick earned a 3-0 La Liga victory at Celta Vigo.

It was the France international's fourth treble for Atleti, equalling the 21st century record of Radamel Falcao.

Griezmann has scored in five of his last six Atlético appearances, seven goals in all. He has eight goals in all competitions this season after 11 games, a tally he reached in his 32nd match in 2022/23.

Since their 1-1 Matchday 1 draw at Lazio, Atleti have also beaten Real Madrid (3-1), Osasuna (2-0), Cádiz (3-2), Feyenoord (3-2) and Real Sociedad (2-1).

Diego Simeone's side also recorded six straight wins last term between 4 March and 16 April.

Atlético have kept four clean sheets in their first 11 games of the campaign, one more than at the same stage of 2022/23, when they managed 17 in all competitions during the campaign as a whole.

Rodrigo Riquelme scored his first senior goal in the 2-0 win at Osasuna on 28 September. Having joined the Atlético academy at ten years old, Riquelme has made ten first-team appearances – two in 2019/20 and eight in this campaign.

Atlético have only lost one game this season, a 3-0 defeat at Valencia on 16 September. The record across all competitions is W8 D2 L1.

A 7-0 win at Rayo Vallecano on 28 August was Atlético's biggest ever away league victory.

That was Griezmann's 200th win with Atlético in his 344th appearance. Only Juanfran (306), Koke (306), Diego Godín (340) and Saúl Ñíguez (341) reached the milestone quicker.

Depay returned as a late substitute in the 3-1 derby win against Real Madrid on 24 September, his first appearance since damaging his right thigh against Rayo Vallecano on 28 August, only to pick up another injury. He has not played since.

Álvaro Morata scored Spain's first goal in the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying win against Scotland in Seville on 12 October and also started the 1-0 win in Norway three days later that secured qualification.

Griezmann started as France sealed their place at UEFA EURO 2024 with a 2-1 win against the Netherlands on 13 October. He also started the 4-1 friendly win against Scotland on 17 October.

Jan Oblak kept clean sheets against Finland (3-0) and Northern Ireland (1-0) as Slovenia went top of UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying Group H.

Rodrigo De Paul helped Argentina to 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying wins against Paraguay (1-0) and Peru (2-0). Nahuel Molina started the first game, but missed the second due to injury, although he was fit to come on as a half-time substitute for Atlético on Saturday.

Çağlar Söyüncü was a late replacement for Atleti at the weekend having been out with a groin injury suffered in Türkiye's 4-2 friendly defeat against Japan on 12 September.

José María Giménez has not played since 1 October due to a calf injury.

Thomas Lemar was replaced in the 43rd minute of Atlético’s 3-0 loss to Valencia on 16 September and will be out until March with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Reinildo Mandava is still recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury he picked up against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on 25 February.

Griezmann is among the 30 nominees for the Ballon d'Or, which will be awarded on 30 October in Paris.