Joe Hart's bizarre stance while conceding a Celtic goal in their 6-0 drubbing against Atletico Madrid has left fans puzzled - after he attempted to save a shot while standing in the middle of his own net.

Hart had an evening to forget in the Champions League clash as he let in six away from home against the LaLiga side, with Daizen Maeda's red card giving the Bhoys an uphill battle in the Spanish capital on Tuesday night. 

The former Man City and Spurs goalkeeper had a torrid time and was unable to stop the rot as Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata both netted braces at the Wanda Metropolitano to put Atletico top of their group. 

With the Scottish outfit already 5-0 down in the game with six minutes plus stoppage time remaining, former Chelsea midfielder Saul Niguez pounced on a loose ball in the Celtic area.

Defenders Liam Scales and Cameron Carter-Vickers were too slow to react, allowing Niguez to put his foot through the ball and thump his effort at goal from close range on the half-volley.

Niguez didn't make a clean connection on the ball and his effort did not have a huge amount of power - making it very much saveable. 

However, Hart appeared to lose his bearings and had no chance of thwarting the shot as he was stood inside his own net.

By the time he started making an attempt to keep it out, the ball had already crossed the line - leaving supporters baffled - as he could only punch the ball into the roof of the net. 

One fan joked that Hart was 'so far off the pitch he's been asked to pay for a ticket'.

Another said sarcastically: 'Trying to make saves while yards behind the goal line is certainly a bold strategy from Joe Hart. Surprisingly, it didn't work.' 

A supporter also questioned: 'Literally what the hell is Hart doing there,' while another simply asked: 'Is this real?' 

Hart has started 11 of Celtic's 12 Scottish Premiership games this season and four times in the Champions League. 

The 36-year-old former Premier League winner has been with Celtic since 2021 and has made 112 appearances in that time - lifting back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles, the Scottish Cup and two Scottish League cups. 

While Hart and Co were left humbled by the scoreline, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers was furious at the decision to send Maeda off after VAR intervention and claimed football was becoming like a computer game.

‘I don’t want to go on about the officials — you have to accept decisions. But it feels more like it’s a computer game now with the constant looking at the screens. 

‘When the referee comes over to see the incident it’s not a reflection of the actual challenge. It’s a still, with his foot up, which straight away plants the seed for the referee and from there his influence is to send the player off.’

Now five points adrift of third-placed Feyenoord, Celtic need to beat Lazio and the Dutch side in their final two games — while relying on favours from Atletico — to have any hope of extending their European run beyond Christmas.