2012-11-07: Celtic 2-1 Barcelona, European Cup

What a night! The world’s greatest team beaten by the world’s greatest club….

Trivia

• Champions League 2012-13, match 4.
• Celtic are second in the group. Victory v Benfica would guarantee group qualification. Seven points at moment, Benfica on four, Spartak three.
• One of the greatest games in Celtic’s European history. Defeating what is regarded as one of the finest sides of all time.
• Barcelona’s first group match away defeat for six years! An incredible record shattered.
• Benfica 2-0 Spartak in other group match.
• Celtic celebrating 125th anniversary celebrations, meeting at St Marys that led to formation of club was on Nov 6th 1887. Special Mass held in St Marys to commemorate it day before.
• Celtic with Green Brigade stage a massive all round stadium incredible Tifo. One of the greatest yet created anywhere. Hats off to the Green Brigade and Celtic for this display.
• Injuries: Izaguirre out for six weeks! Hooper, Forrest, Rogne and Brown also out.
• Debut Champions League goal for Tony Watt, and it’s actually his first at Celtic Park. What a debut home goal!
• Messi finally gets his goal v Celtic! Too little too late (thankfully).
• Celtic top news billing in all sports bulletins across the UK and much of the world!
• Forster dubbed by Spanish paper Marcana as ‘The Great Wall’ after his exceptional performance in goals.
• Celtic’s Champion squad cost £7m to assemble. Barca’s non-champion Champions League team brought on 2 subs who cost £70m.
• Celtic’s possession percentage is reported to be the lowest yet recorded for a side winning a game in the Champions League group stage.

Quotes

• Joe Ledley: “Got to say I know every player says it but today was the best atmosphere ever… Thank you”
• Joe Ledley: “Boomtown greatest moment of my life! We have just beaten the best team ever!”
• Daily Mirror: “Shock aye the Nou! Wanyama and Watt help Celtic stun Barcelona…and everyone else”
• Arch Bell (Marca.com): “There is perhaps no greater home pitch advantage in all of football than a Celtic home match at Celtic Park as Barcelona learned the hard way in their Wednesday night Champions League defeat 2-1.”
• Vilanova: “I don’t like to lose, but if we have to lose, let it be this way.”
• Vilanova: “I have been lucky in my career to have been to many grounds, but I have never seen anything like it. .”
• Xavi speaking on Catalan TV – “The stadium was marvellous, the fans, the people. It is an example for everyone.”
• Fraser Forster “The Great Wall” (front cover of @mundodeportivo)
• Kenneth Dalglish (@kennethdalglish) “What an unbelievable result for Neil Lennon and all at Celtic.Only Lisbon beats it.The noise was deafening. Enjoy tonight.”
• Neil Lennon: “I haven’t bettered this Barcelona win in my life”
• Philippe Auclair (@PhilippeAuclair) (eminent journalist and footall analyst): “Regardez les fils twitter des joueurs du Barca parlant de l’atmosphere a Celtic Park…’incroyable’…’indescriptible’
• Gabrielle Marcotti: “Then again, this Celtic beating this Barca prob more improbable than even 67. (Except for the 11 Glaswegians bit, which remains stunning)”
• El Pais: “Triunfo memorable de un club histórico: El Celtic … siempre será el Celtic, imposible olvidar un estadio como el Celtic Park: 125 años después de su fundación, el campeón escocés sigue siendo un club reconocible y admirable.” “a memorable triumph of a historic club: Celtic … will always be celtic, it’s impossible to forget a stadium like celtic park: 125 years after their inception, the scottish champions remain a renowned and admired club.”
• Paul Hayward (Daily Telegraph Chief Sports Writer): “Somewhere between madness and love, this fanaticism did for Barcelona on a night when the Celtic team and their disciples were indivisible. Money can’t buy you that.”
• Messi looking back on the games v Celtic (Apr 2015) – “The games against Celtic were special and I want to remember them. “The performances of Fraser Forster against us were talked about for a long time. There was one game in Scotland where he was not human, it is the best goalkeeping performance I have seen.”

Review

(robthejock of KDS forum)
It all started with the Champions League Draw. We drew the best team in the world who we all class as our friends. We decided that our friendship was such that, after the Hospitality we received in Barcelona, we should have a drink and a dance for hours in the fanzone before the match. We turn up at the match to see the Walk On which was magnificent, but was soon to fade in to insignificance as we saw the “Best pre match display ever” (that was what was said to me by 8 English friends). Then we played our hearts out, bravery and no little skill, and beat the “best team in the world”. Then an 18 year old kid turns up on TV with a Barcelona top on and tells us its the best day of his life. Finally an old man, some of you might know, is caught crying on Sky TV because he is ONE OF US AND SO PROUD. Celtic, I salute you. You, like Barcalona, are more than a club and a huge part in my life. I love you!!

(KaiserCelt32 of KDS forum)
Forster – a sheer colossus in goal, special keeper and I hope we can keep him for a long time yet

Lustig – Jordi Alba tore us apart on the left, no two ways about it, but as soon as he stepped into the box Lustig foiled him at every turn, including “that” tackle in the first half, brilliant

Ambrose – solid performance, him and Wilson are forming a terrific partnership at the back

Wilson – going from strength to strength this season, another top-class performance against the worlds finest

Matthews – one of the best players on the park, stifled Pedro and Alves to the point that their presence was non-existent, also played a big part in keeping Messi quiet in the 2nd half, played out of position too!

Commons – looked out of his depth in the first half, just didn’t have the pace to keep up with Alba, came out a different player in the second half though, Got stuck in and cleared the ball well

Wanyama – quality, absolutely amazing performance, got the better of Alba for the goal and just bossed the Barcelona midfield with his strength and tackling, need to keep him for as long as possible

Ledley – quiet game, but like the rest of the team, played his part

Mulgrew – another who’s inclusion worried some before the game but came through with flying colours. Superb delivery for the first goal and his passing in general was just fantastic, could have cleared his lines better though and saved me from several potential heart attacks

Samaras – did what he does best, made himself a thorn in Barcelona’s side, got up for every header and linked up well with Miku

Miku – brilliant performance, his off the ball play is miles better than Hooper’s, did a fantastic amount of running, chased everything and wasn’t afraid to get stuck into the Barca defence

Subs:

Watt – not often you see Barca make such a glaring error, but well done to the young man for making it count and keeping cool, took his goal brilliantly and he’ll take his place in Celtic history. Sky’s the limit for this kid

Kayal – didn’t see too much of him during the game but he was only on for 10 minutes I think…

Teams

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)
• Audio Report: Paradise Report

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Forum

• Pre-match
• Match
• Post Match

MOTM

• Voting Thread
• Result Thread
• Winner –
• 2012-13 Winners

Stats

Celtic Barcelona
Possession
66% 34%
90mins

Shots
3 25

On target
3 14

Corners
2 7

Fouls
9 9

Articles

Celtic’s 12th man

Neil Lennon’s Celtic side was lifted all night long by the home crowd
Marca newspaper (marca.com)

There is perhaps no greater home pitch advantage in all of football than a Celtic home match at Celtic Park as Barcelona learned the hard way in their Wednesday night Champions League defeat 2-1.

It all started well before the opening whistle as the legendary Glasgow club commemorated their 125th anniversary. The electricity in the air was further punctuated prior to the match by a stirring rendition from the fans of the hymn, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, that left onlookers feeling goose bumps.

Neil Lennon’s men carried that momentum onto the pitch versus their rivals who had needed a last-second goal to defeat the Scots two weeks prior in Catalonia.

As expected, Barcelona controlled the rhythm from the outset but at the 20 minute mark, Celtic earned a corner that was wildly cheered by the Celtic Park faithful.

Standing on their feet, they seemingly lifted Victor Wanyama above the Barcelona defense to smack Charlie Mulgrew’s corner past Víctor Valdés.

Sensing Barcelona’s vulnerability, the 60,000-plus people in attendance grew louder with every Celtic clearance of a Barcelona threat.

As the second half wore on, the impossible started becoming a reality for Celtic fans and when Tony Watt doubled the margin in the 83rd minute, the eruption on the east end of Glasgow could have registered on the Richter scale.

Things were quieted for an instant on Leo Messi’s second half stoppage time but the final whistle from the referee set off pandemonium anew among Celtic’s 12th man who arguably should have taken home man of the match honors.

Celtic 2 – 1 Barcelona: Historic win for Celtic

The Scotsman

Published on Thursday 8 November 2012 00:05

ON AN evening when they celebrated 125 years of history, Celtic secured a breathtaking victory which stands comparison with any of the myriad famous results recorded in their storied existence.

Celtic: Wanyama, 21; Watt, 83

Barcelona: Messi, 90

The last 16 of the Champions League is now tantalisingly in reach of Neil Lennon and his players after a remarkable display of defensive discipline, indomitable spirit and glorious opportunism saw them overcome a Barcelona team widely regarded as one of the finest football has ever seen.

This was a night of utter triumph for Lennon as he established himself as a Celtic manager of considerable stature. Any of his illustrious predecessors in the role would have been proud of a precious win earned by goals from Victor Wanyama and prodigious substitute Tony Watt.

Lionel Messi’s stoppage-time goal for Barcelona ensured a nerve-wracking end to an

endlessly absorbing contest for the home fans, but there was to be no late salvage job for the Catalan superstars.

Celtic savoured their greatest ever Champions League win, one which leaves them in second place in Group G.

They will travel to Lisbon in a fortnight fuelled by belief

they can achieve a result against Benfica which could secure their passage to the knockout stages.

The Champions League has provided the stiffest possible examination of Lennon’s burgeoning coaching acumen and circumstances forced him to try and find a fresh solution to the unique problems presented by Barcelona.

He was not found wanting as he pieced together a team selection and strategy which succeeded in giving the Scottish champions a platform from which to try and plunder a positive result from their exalted visitors.

The loss of captain Scott Brown to a viral complaint on the morning of the game was a significant blow for Lennon, already without a trio of key personnel in the shape of Emilio Izaguirre, James Forrest and Gary Hooper.

But Georgios Samaras did pass a fitness test, returning in a floating role behind Nicolas “Miku” Fedor who was preferred to teenager Watt for the central striking role. With Charlie Mulgrew deployed in Samaras’ favoured wide left position, Celtic set out a fluid 4-4-1-1 formation which regularly came to resemble a 6-3-1 when they were forced on to the back foot by Barcelona’s relentless and almost hypnotic brand of ball retention.

The Uefa statistics relayed on to the giant Parkhead screens told of some 85 per cent possession for the Spanish League leaders, but it yielded nothing for them in the first half but the 1-0 interval deficit which had a fevered home support daring to dream of a momentoustriumph.

Wanyama’s 21st-minute goal was a masterclass in opportunism from Celtic as they took full advantage of their first significant raid into Barcelona territory. The visitors’ vulnerability at set-pieces was exposed when Efe Ambrose’s long throw-in was only cleared back out to the Nigerian, who forced a corner on the right. Mulgrew whipped it over with pace and precision, finding the towering figure of Wanyama at the far post, rising above Jordi Alba to send a close- range header beyond Victor Valdes into the roof of the net.

It was a case of deja vu for Celtic, having also gone ahead in the Nou Camp two weeks earlier, and the challenge now was to try and write a different script than the one which unfolded that night.

Barcelona had passed up a couple of decent chances to take the lead themselves before Wanyama scored, Alexis Sanchez forcing Fraser Forster into his first save of the night after just six minutes with a close-range shot before Lionel Messi scooped an effort over the top as he got on the end of one especially mesmerising passage of play.

There was no hint of panic from Barcelona after they went behind, as they continued to trust in their ability to carve open Celtic’s diligent defence, but there were a few signs of frustration that the end product continued to elude them.

Remarkably, Celtic might even have doubled their lead in the 27th minute when Adam Matthews burst forward from left-back on a counter-attack and struck his low cross just

too far in front of the unmarked Samaras in the penalty area.

The procession towards Forster’s goal quickly resumed, but Messi’s radar remained slightly askew when he latched on to Andres Iniesta’s rapier pass and clipped the top of the crossbar with his shot.

Celtic were pinned back, but utterly resolute. They also needed fortune to favour them, of course, and it did so again when Sanchez beat Forster with a header from Dani Alves’ cross only to see the ball strike the big goalkeeper’s left-hand post.

Unlike at the Nou Camp, the concentration levels of Lennon’s players remained sufficiently keen to avoid the loss of a late first-half equaliser on this occasion and the interval whistle was greeted with a mixture of glee and gratitude from their fans.

The pattern remained much the same in the second-half, although Barcelona’s hogging of possession was not quite so pronounced as Celtic managed to fashion some encouraging counter-attacking situations which hinted at the possibility of strengthening their position.

Messi was generally being subdued effectively, most notably by the outstanding Matthews, but the Argentinian maestro did cause a sharp intake of breath around the stands when he cut inside from the right and curled in a shot which Forster got across smartly to his right to hold.

The volume increased once more when Celtic forced their second corner of the night, this time opting for a training ground routine as Kris Commons played it short to Mulgrew from the left. Mulgrew’s lofted ball into the box found Mikael Lustig, but his looping header was easily gathered by Valdes.

As Barcelona tried to heighten the tempo, Forster became a more significantly influential figure for Celtic. The big Englishman made a smart double save to deny Alexis, then bettered that contribution with a tremendous reaction stop to keep out a fierce Messi drive.

The visitors were fortunate not to be reduced to ten men when Alex Song, booked in the first-half for a foul on Fedor, somehow escaped a second yellow card for a thumping challenge from behind on the same player. Barcelona coach Vilanova recognised the let-off, almost immediately replacing Song with Cesc Fabregas.

Lennon was forced into his first change when Lustig limped off to be replaced by Watt,

and the 18-year-old took Celtic into dreamland with his stunning goal seven minutes from time.

A long clearance from

Forster was misjudged by Xavi, allowing Watt to sprint clear into the penalty area and beat Valdes with a brilliantly cool right-foot finish from around

12 yards.

Celtic and their fans could not relax, Messi finally breaking their resistance in stoppage time when he tapped in from close range after Forster blocked Pedro’s shot, but this was an evening when Lennon and

his men simply would not be denied.

Celtic: Forster, Lustig (Watt 71), Ambrose, Wilson, Matthews; Commons, Wanyama, Ledley, Mulgrew; Samaras (Kayal 79); Fedor. Subs not used: Zaluska, McCourt, Herron, Fraser, McGeouch.

Barcelona: Valdes, Alves, Bartra (Pique 71), Mascherano, Alba; Xavi, Song (Fabregas 71), Iniesta; Pedro, Messi, Sanchez (Villa 65). Subs not used: Pinto, Dos Santos, Montoya, Tello.

Emotional Neil Lennon savours one of the greatest nights in Celtic history

The Scotsman

By STEPHEN HALLIDAY
Published on Thursday 8 November 2012 00:00

NEIL Lennon last night hailed Celtic’s momentous Champions League victory over Barcelona as the greatest achievement of his life and admits he may never be able to scale a higher peak in his career chart.

Visibly moved by the magnitude of the 2-1 win over the Catalan giants at Parkhead, which leaves the Scottish champions promisingly placed to reach the last 16 of Europe’s elite club tournament, Lennon heaped praise on his players for writing an indelible new entry in Celtic’s history.

Goals from Victor Wanyama and teenage substitute Tony Watt put Lennon’s team 2-0 up on a pulsating night in Glasgow’s east end, resisting everything competition favourites Barcelona could throw at them until Lionel Messi pulled one back in stoppage time.

“This is up there with anything I have ever done in my life,” said an emotional and drained Lennon. “Being in the team which reached the Uefa Cup final in 2003 was pretty special, the ten years I spent under Martin O’Neill were great times, and I reached the last 16 of the Champions League as a player by beating Manchester United here.

“But as a manager, I don’t know if I’ll top this. I hope I do, that I can progress, because I’m still young and still learning. But this is right up there with anything I’ve ever achieved, not just in my football career but in my life.

“It is one of the greatest nights in the club’s recent history. It’s very poignant on our 125th anniversary, to play Barcelona in such a prestigious game and then to win the game under huge difficulties with the squad being decimated by injuries and illness.

“The players are heroes to me. I can’t speak highly enough of their performance. They will go down in the history books of the club as the team which beat probably the best team in the world.”

Without ill captain Scott Brown and the injured quartet of Emilio Izaguirre, Thomas Rogne, James Forrest and Gary Hooper, Lennon formulated a strategy which succeeded in overcoming their formidable visitors.

He sought to play down his own part in the triumph, insisting those on the pitch deserve the credit, although accepted that he and his coaching staff had targeted Barcelona’s defensive weaknesses, most notably when Wanyama headed the opener from a Charlie Mulgrew corner.

“Everyone goes on about tactics, but it’s about players,” added Lennon. “The way we set the team out thought about flooding the midfield, but decided we didn’t have enough pace in the wide areas to counter attack as well as we can.

“So we put Miku off Georgios Samaras, who we felt would need support at times. Miku did it perfectly. He was defensively good, as were the whole team.

“You can talk about tactics until you are blue in the face, but football is about the players and they covered themselves in glory tonight.

“We do prepare the team as best we can. We felt they were vulnerable from corners at the back post and we left half the box empty, hoping that Wanyama or Mikael Lustig could exploit that.

“But the delivery is so important and Charlie Mulgrew is one of the best strikers of a dead ball in British football. It was up to him to provide it. So we can give them the instructions, but it’s down to the players to make it happen. They did that tonight.

“Barcelona had good chances and Fraser Forster was fantastic when I needed him to be. You need your goalkeeper to play well and the men in front of him to be disciplined and concentrated. After we scored our first goal, we knew the storm was coming and it did. We needed some luck. Barcelona hit the bar and hit the post. So they will feel very unlucky not to get something out of the game.

“But we have just played the best team in the world and the difference is that their coach Tito Vilanova could bring on David Villa and Cesc Fabregas from the bench, while I brought on an 18-year-old kid who cost £50,000 from Airdrie United.”

Watt marked his Champions League group stage debut with a stunning goal which proved the match winner for Celtic, earning plaudits from his manager.

“It’s a phenomenal thing he has done so early in his career,” said Lennon. “I said before the game I’d have no hesitation in playing him, but, in the end, we just felt his lack of experience meant it would be a wee bit too much to put him in the starting line-up.

“But he came on and did everything we asked him to do. He scored a brilliant goal and I felt he should have had a penalty, and a sending-off for Javier Mascherano, when he got the other side of him.

“The kid is still learning, but he has written himself into the history books of the club tonight. He’s only a few games into his career and I hope he goes on to have a fruitful career.”

Celtic remain in second place in Group G, now two points

behind leaders Barcelona and three points clear of third-placed Benfica who defeated Spartak Moscow 2-0 last night.

Celtic celebrate after beating Barcelona

The Herald
Celtic pulled off one of their best results in modern history when they dispatched the legendary Barcelona 2-1 in their Champions League qualifier.

Goals in either half from Victor Wanyama and teenager Tony Watt, making his debut in the competition, secured a victory that even their staunchest of fans were not predicting against the Catalan giants.

The rain in Glasgow fell mainly on the men from Spain as 60,000 Celtic fans deliriously celebrated a result which caps this week’s 125th anniversary of the club’s founding.

Among the crowd were singer Rod Stewart, seen in tears at one point, and former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, now linked to the Scottish manager’s post.

The Parkhead men had to withstand the usual pressure from a Barcelona side, regarded by many as the best club team in the world, orchestrated by Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and their millionaire team-mates.

But a combination of stalwart defending, the woodwork, and good saves by Fraser Forster kept Barcelona at bay until the final minute of normal time, when Messi snatched a goal.

It was Barcelona’s first defeat in a group stage game in three years.

Jubilant Celtic manager Neil Lennon managed the victory without three of his stars: captain Scott Brown, highly rated striker Gary Hooper, and full-back Emilio Izaguirre.

Lennon later described the result as “one of the proudest of his career” and paid tribute to the “monumental” efforts of his players.

He said: “I think it was one of the greatest nights in the club’s recent history. It was very poignant at our 125th anniversary, one to play Barcelona in such a prestigious game and two, to win the game under huge difficulties with the squad decimated by injuries and illness.

“The players are heroes, they are heroes to me, I can’t speak highly enough of their performance tonight and they will go down in the history books of the club as the team who beat probably the best team in the world.

“Everyone goes on about tactics but football is about players and they have covered themselves in glory tonight.”

Celtic, with seven points from four games, two less than leaders Barca, travel to Benfica before hosting Spartak Moscow in their final group fixture.

Benfica have four points following their home win over Spartak Moscow, who are bottom of the group with three points.

The Hoops fans will surely fancy their side’s chances of reaching the knockout stages of the competition but Lennon remained cautious.

The former Celtic skipper said: “We have a chance, that’s all it has given us. A greater chance than maybe we expected before the game. But we still have two very tough games.

“The problem is the players and staff will have to deal with is that the expectation level will increase.

“There is still a lot of work to do but we have given ourselves a platform. But that’s for the future, I want the players to enjoy the moment and take it all in.”

Celtic shock Barcelona with goals from Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt

Guardian report

Champions League
Celtic 2

Wanyama 21,
Watt 83

Barcelona 1

Messi 90+1

Ewan Murray at Celtic Park
The Guardian, Wednesday 7 November 2012 21.59 GMT
Victor Wanyama Celtic Barcelona
Victor Wanyama rises above his marker to score Celtic’s opening goal in his side’s magnificent victory over Barcelona. Photograph: David Moir/Reuters

A day after Celtic officially recognised the 125th anniversary of their foundation, the class of 2012 delivered one of the finest European results in the club’s history.

Neil Lennon’s understrength team displayed wonderful tenacity and ruthlessness to see off Barcelona, even if some seriously edgy moments were triggered by a stoppage time Lionel Messi goal. Few could legitimately begrudge Celtic their success, which also offers a timely boost to the standing of Scottish football in otherwise troubled times.

Lennon enjoyed a decorated playing spell in green and white but, for Celtic’s manager, this occasion will go down as a career highlight. It also illustrated the Northern Irishman’s growing status in the dugout.

Celtic have beaten illustrious opposition on their home patch before, including Barcelona, but the current status of Tito Vilanova’s side renders this especially significant. Afterwards, the Barcelona manager rued his players’ inability to claim the game’s first goal.

In the midst of epic celebrations in Glasgow’s East End, the significance of this win in a Champions League context was almost forgotten. Celtic are now on the verge of the last 16.

The Scottish side had to ensure the hope did not kill them, if such positive sentiment could ever precede a meeting with the best club side of the modern era, if not all time.

Celtic received legitimate praise for their showing in the Camp Nou a fortnight ago, where it took an injury-time Jordi Alba goal to secure Barcelona’s 100th Champions League win. Lennon had been keen to point out in the build-up to this game that Barça’s potency is not blunted when they play away from home.

Celtic had also suffered the misfortune of injuries to key players. As expected, Gary Hooper – Lennon’s most prolific striker – and Emilio Izaguirre sat out this match but there was surprise about the absence of the captain Scott Brown, who had been struck down by a virus.

The visitors’ first opportunity fell to the irrepressible Messi, who scooped over the crossbar from an Alba cross in the eighth minute. Generally, though, Lennon would have been content with Celtic’s opening to the game amid a typically rousing atmosphere; Victor Wanyama was about to intensify that.

As was the case in the match in Catalonia, a Charlie Mulgrew set play created sufficient trouble in the Barcelona defence to force a Celtic goal.

From Mulgrew’s corner, Wanyama bulleted a fierce header past Victor Valdés. Lennon later admitted he had spotted a Barcelona weakness at defending corner kicks elsewhere in their Group G campaign.

The goal was fitting reward for Wanyama, whose fine midfield play had earned Celtic rare possession in the opponents’ last third. He was to enjoy an outstanding night’s work in front of scouts from England, including Manchester United.

Barça’s attempts at a response, as intricate and patient as ever, found admirable resistance among the Celtic back line. In Messi’s case, he clipped Fraser Forster’s bar from 16 yards. Alexis Sánchez was the next to threaten, with a shot which bounced wide off Forster’s left-hand post. Celtic, though, managed to survive until the brief respite afforded by the half-time whistle.

Barcelona stepped up their efforts at claiming an equaliser after the interval. Messi tested Forster with a curling effort from 18 yards, before the Celtic goalkeeper produced a fine double block to deny Sánchez.

By the hour mark, Barcelona were territorially dominant without their hosts looking overly perturbed or panicked. That, of course, was to Celtic’s enormous credit given the savage beatings Barça have dished out to teams in similar scenarios.

A glimpse at spare resource offered the La Liga team hope. Vilanova had the ability to bring on David Villa and Cesc Fábregas, as he duly did. Lennon, by contrast, had four youngsters among his six outfield substitutes.

Still, Vilanova was lucky his team were not reduced to 10 men as early as the 68th minute. Alex Song, already on a booking, clattered through the back of Miku, with the referee showing notable generosity to the former Arsenal man.

Forster’s finest save of the night was still to come. The England squad member produced a wonderful, diving one-handed stop to frustrate Messi again.

This time, it was Celtic who were to close out the match in its dying stages. Straight from a Forster kick out, Xavi Hernández clean missed his attempt at playing the ball back into the Celtic half. In what represented the stuff of fairytales, the 18-year-old Tony Watt, a £50,000 signing from Airdrie, raced through and lashed beyond Valdés.

Barça hope arrived from Messi, who scored a rebound from close range. Yet Celtic could not and would not be denied. The timing of their jubilation seemed wholly appropriate.

Neil Lennon: My players made history

By: Mark Henderson on 07 Nov, 2012 23:21
Celticfc.net
A PROUD Neil Lennon reckons Celtic´s breathtaking UEFA Champions League victory over Barcelona is one of the greatest moments in the club´s illustrious history.

One day after the club celebrated its 125th anniversary with a poignant service at St Mary´s church, the current crop of players turned in a stirring and heroic performance to overcome the Catalan giants 2-1at Paradise.

Celtic have enjoyed many memorable moments over the past 125 years and this outstanding triumph over the team currently recognised as as the best in the worldwill rank easily among them.

Victor Wanyama had headed the Hoops into a first-half lead from Charlie Mulgrew´s corner.

Celtic had to withstand heavy pressure throughout the contest, with Fraser Forster producing some superb saves to keep the gifted visitors at bay. But they held firm andsubstitute Tony Watt´s breakaway strike sealed the win in the closing stages.

Although Lionel Messi caused a few nervy moments by scoring a consolation goal, the hosts held on for a magnificent three points in front of a delirious Celtic Park.

And the Celtic boss deflected all the praise on to his players for their heroic efforts.

“I think it´s one of the greatest nights in the club´s recent history and very poignant on our 125th anniversary,” said the manager. “To play Barcelona in such a prestigious game and then win the game under huge difficulties with the squad decimated by injuries and illness – the players are heroes, they are heroes to me.

“I can´t speak highly enough of their performances tonight and they will go down in the history books as theside that beat probably the best team in the world.

“Everyone goes on about tactics, but it´s about players. We took a bit of gamble not to go 4-5-1. We were thinking should we flood the midfield? But we felt we didn’t have enough pace in wide areas to counter-attack as well as we can.

“We put Miku just off Samaras as we felt he needed support sometimes and Miku did it perfectly. He also did his job defensively very well, as all the team did.

“So you can talk about tactics until you are blue in the face as far as I´m concerned. Football is about the players and they have covered themselves in glory tonight.

“If you look back on tonight, Barcelona had good chances and once again my goalkeeper was fantastic when I needed him to be,” he added. “He made some great saves. To beat Barcelona you need your goalkeeper to play well and the men in front of him to be disciplined and concentrated as they are working so hard.”

It was a fairytale story for Tony Watt. This time last year the teenager was starring for Celtic Under-19 side and now he can boast of scoring the winning goal against Barcelona.

“It´s a phenomenal thing he´s done so early in his career,” said the manager. “I would have had no hesitation in playing him but we just felt with his lack of experience that it would have been too much to put him in the starting line-up.

“But he has come on and did everything we asked him to do. He scored a brilliant goal and I felt we should have had a sending off when he got on the other side of Mascherano.

“The kid is learning and again he has written himself into the club´s history books. He is 11 games into his career and I hope he has a fruitful one but it will take some topping to do what he has done tonight.”

Courtesy of their astonishing win, Celtic now sit on seven points and remain in second place in the group, leaving them well-positioned to extend their European adventure. But much hard work remains, cautioned the manager.

“We have a chance,” he said. “That’s all it´s given us, a greater chance than maybe we expected before the game.We still have two very difficult games. The problems the players and myself will have to deal with now is that the expectation level will increase.

“There is still a lot to do in the group but we have given ourselves a fantastic platform. But that´s for the future. I want my players to enjoy the moment and take it all in.

“I have to commend the supporters as well tonight,” he added. “This is what Celtic is about. It makes the club so special. It´s one of the greatest arenas in European football and you saw all that tonight.”

And while Neil Lennon has accomplished much in his life and his professional career, he admitted nothing had bettered this.

“This is up there with anything I have ever done in my life,” added the Hoops boss. “Playing-wise, reaching the UEFA Cup final was pretty special and I had great times under Martin O´Neill and Gordon Strachan, making the last 16 here and beating Manchester United.

“But as a manager, I don´t know if I can top that. I hope I do. I hope I can progress as I am still young and still learning but it´s right up there with anything I have achieved in my football career and my life.”

Jonathan Wilson: Celtic should be celebrated

ESPNSTAR.com columnist Jonathan Wilson looks at Celtic’s 2-1 UEFA Champions League win over Barcelona as anything but being “anti-football”.

By Jonathan Wilson

Good football does not have to be attacking football. The usual complaints were out after Celtic had beaten Barcelona in the Champions League accusing them of having played “anti-football”, but let us not ignore the fact that defending is as vital a part of the game as attacking. Football is won by goals scored, not percentage of possession achieved: possession may be the means to the end but it is not the end in itself.

Celtic made only 166 of the 1121 passes in the game, had only 194 of 1286 touches (including crosses and corners), registered only five of 25 attempts on goal and held the ball – by Uefa’s statistics – for 28% of the match. They were, by any statistical measure other than goals, outplayed. And this, of course, is where attempts to analyse the game statistically often fall down. There is no golden stat; goals aside, every statistic must be considered in relation to style.

Who is better, a player who completes 99% of passes or one who completes 80%? The figures are meaningless unless you know the type of passes he is attempting to play and the type of passes he is supposed to be playing. Liverpool’s Joe Allen, for instance, should regularly score in the high nineties because his job is to rotate the ball, keep it moving and ensure possession isn’t lost. When Zambia won the Cup of Nations, though, their central midfielders, Isaac Chansa and Nathan Sinkala, rarely averaged even 80% pass completion because their whole game plan was based on getting the ball forward quickly, accuracy being sacrificed for speed.

So to point out possession stats for Celtic’s win over Barcelona is simply to point out that Barcelona had a lot of the ball, which was always likely and was surely always Celtic’s game plan. There are still those who criticise Celtic’s caution, as though they should have offered themselves up as lambs to the slaughter but, even if you take the view of the Russian theorist Lev Filatov that defensive football is “the right of the weak”, it must be borne in mind that Barcelona’s annual wage bill, according to sportingintelligence.com is £5.26million and Celtic’s £1.07m.

It’s been widely accepted – at least since USA beat Spain in the semi-final of the Confederations Cup in 2009 – that the best way to beat them is to cede the flanks and pack the centre. It’s a gamble – as most tactical ploys are – but essentially a team reasons it can allow Barcelona (or Spain) to put crosses into the box as their central defenders are likely to have the beating of Lionel Messi, Pedro, Alexis Sanchez and David Villa (or Fernando Torres) in the air.

The danger of doing that is twofold. Firstly, vacating the flanks gives Barca’s full-backs room in which to advance – which is, of course, how Barcelona scored their winner in the game at the Camp Nou.

And secondly, the risk is that teams end up encamped in their own penalty area as waves of Barcelona attacks pour forward at them. A tiny few survive; most, eventually, succumb to a lapse in concentration or a moment of unstoppable Barcelona brilliance.

Celtic mitigated that by leaving two men up front for most of the game. Georgios Samaras worked tirelessly, chasing clearances, holding the ball up, placing Barca’s centre-backs under pressure. He is an oddly derided figure, but this was a lesson in leading the line in a defensive cause. Miku, buzzing just off him, was quick to offer support, while dropping in to be an auxiliary midfielder where necessary. Their effectiveness meant both that Barcelona always had to leave at least a couple of men back themselves, that there was always an outlet for Celtic to relieve pressure and that they always had a secondary objective: they never became bogged down by a bunker mentality and the midfield line, led magnificently by Victor Wanyama, never ended up too deep, on top of the defence.

Of course Celtic rode their luck to an extent – most sides who play so defensively do. Twice Barca hit the woodwork and the Celtic keeper Fraser Forster made a handful of outstanding saves. But that doesn’t detract from Celtic’s achievement. There is no tactical approach that brings a 100% chance of success; all that a coach can do is to manipulate the percentage chance of a positive result as far in his side’s favour as possible. Neil Lennon reduced Barca’s threat while retaining his win side’s to the extent that it only took a couple of moments of fortune to go Celtic’s way for them to win.

Should Barcelona, then, be worried? Does defeat to Celtic – who are, of course, only joint top of a Scottish Premier League denuded of Rangers – indicate major problems, particularly coming a fortnight after they only narrowly beat them at the Camp Nou? There must, of course, be a concern that the tactic of packing the middle and ceding the flanks again caused such problems.

Defensively, particularly in combatting set-plays and apparently long balls over the top, there are major flaws – although getting either Carles Puyol or Gerard Pique fit and playing consistently may ease that. Nor do they have the rhythm of previous seasons.

So the situation is far from perfect, but realistically this remains a formidable Barcelona side. It is still adapting to a change of coach and yet have enjoyed a record-breaking start to the domestic season, dropping just two points in their opening 10 games. Tito Vilanova has made them a touch more direct, has increased their verticality – it was noticeable that against Celtic they never fell into the trap they did against Chelsea last season, say, of endless horizontal passing.
It may even be that the increased verticality is enabling them to win games without having to find that mesmerising tempo.

For Barcelona, defeat in a group game is no great set-back: the key for them is ensuring that come March and April they have addressed their defensive issues and slipped into rhythm by the vital knockout games when a defeat would matter. For Celtic, meanwhile, this was a performance to equal any in the recent history of the club, based in determination, organisation and no little intelligence. It may lead to the knockout stages, it may not; really it deserves to be celebrated in and of itself.

Spanish media reactions

—–
MUNDO DEPORTIVO
Bravehearts overcome Barcelona
“Barcelona were the guest of honour at Celtic’s birthday party. It is hard to imagine how this Celtic team, with the support of the fans, ever lose a game in this old and beloved stadium. The atmosphere was special: 60,000 plastic green and white sheets formed a mosaic of the club badge, and brutal screaming engulfed the Champions League anthem. They did not stop jumping, singing and shouting. This pushes people to their team. And there is a legend: the stadium literally shakes.”
– Joan Poqui
—–
SPORT
Barcelona caught in a trance at Celtic Park
“This match was a carbon copy of what we saw a few weeks ago at the Camp Nou. But this time there was to be no comeback, no triumph at the last minute. Celtic did not move an inch from their script. After taking the lead they retreated behind the ball, giving it to Barca. Barca were superior to their rival, who defended all the time. But Celtic are a tough nut to crack.”
– Ricard Lopez
—–
CADENA SER
Forster heroics help Celtic achieve unlikely victory
“This time Barcelona could not penetrate the wall of defenders they so often face in league and cup competitions. A corner, a counter-attack, plus some memorable stops by Fraser Forster, were enough for Celtic to counter Barca’s dominance.”
– Alfredo Garcia
—–
BARCELONA FC
Squandered opportunity for Barcelona
“The Scots can feel very fortunate to have survived the Barça onslaught and come out of this with a win, having only made two attempts on goal, while Barça dominated the possession from start to finish and hit the woodwork twice. The three points were a far bigger return than the Hoops deserved from a bizarre game in which they scored with their only two serious attempts on goal.”
– Roger Bogunya

Barcelona’s aristocrats are brought down to earth on night of passion as Celtic follow 125-year tradition in style

Wednesday, Nov 7, should be remembered in European football history as Diversity Breakthrough Day. On that night, Shakhtar Donetsk dazzled the crowd at Stamford Bridge and Celtic conquered Barcelona with a meagre 16 per cent possession rate but a 125-year tradition.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/celtic/9665144/Barcelonas-aristocrats-are-brought-down-to-earth-on-night-of-passion-as-Celtic-follow-125-year-tradition-in-style.html

Barcelona’s aristocrats are brought down to earth on night of passion as Celtic follow 125-year tradition in style
Something to shout about: Celtic fans celebrate their club’s 125h birthday before beating Barcelona Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Paul Hayward, Chief Sports Writer

11:59PM GMT 08 Nov 2012

A club set up to feed the poor in Glasgow’s East End took a bite out of the rich in a front of a home tribe so passionate that even Barcelona’s Clasico veterans were taken aback.

“No words to describe the atmosphere at Celtic Park,” wrote Gerard Piqué, who knows so well the cauldron of Real Madrid v Barcelona.

“The stadium is a marvel – the fans, the people, how they support their team,” Xavi added. “It’s an example for every team.”

Last match: Barcelona. Next match: St Johnstone. That was the posting on Celtic’s fixture list yesterday. A huge advantage of the most hotly-supported clubs is that they have an enemy to define themselves against. River Plate have Boca Juniors, Barça confront Real and the religious and political dynamic of Glasgow served up Rangers to help Celtic shape their identity. Or did, until the Old Firm foe were shoved down to the Scottish Third Division.

The loss of a Protestant/Unionist nemesis to kick against might have cast Celtic in the role of a heavyweight shuffling around a ring with no one to punch.

Instead a world beyond sectarianism bestowed one of the great moments in the history of the club, the day after club grandees were joined by a Barcelona delegation at St Mary’s in the Calton – their spiritual home – to celebrate a 125th ‘birthday’ Mass.

Even before the Barcelona game, Neil Lennon, the manager, had said: “The men who had the foresight and ambition to create Celtic will, I’m sure, be very proud if also overwhelmed at the success of the club. While it has grown in size and stature, the club remains true to its roots and its founding principles.”

Henrik Larsson, that hooped Swedish legend, called the 2-1 victory on Wednesday the best ever night at Celtic Park, but the greatest feat in their history remains the 1967 European Cup win with a squad drawn, with only one exception, from a 10-mile radius of their ground.

That memory might have seemed even more precious to older Celtic fans as Lionel Messi traipsed off. Modern giant-killing in group stages cannot be the pinnacle of ambition for the first British club to bring home the European Cup.

“Shock aye the Nou,” joked the Mirror’s back page. And many Celtic fans misunderstood the emphasis on Barcelona’s 84 per cent possession ratio. They were not being patronised. Rather, here was proof that football is a patchwork of many skills and styles: some of them borne of necessity, when Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta are in town.

The rest of British football – Rangers excepted, of course – enjoyed not only the shock and the jubilation but the sense that European football might be more of a democracy than we supposed.

Never mind that Celtic exist in a weak league that has fallen to them 43 times. In Europe, they are big hitters still, with 160 supporters’ club around the world, as they showed by taking 80,000 to Seville for the 2003 Uefa Cup final.

According to one expert their average first-team salary is £1.07 million, or £20,487 a week. Barcelona’s is £5.26 million, or £101,160 per week. Plainly Lennon is never going to be able to entice a David Villa with the prospect of facing St Johnstone at the weekend. But he might find a Victor Wanyama, or send on an 18-year-old substitute (Tony Watt) to land the decisive blow.

When wealth began concentrating massively in a small number of hands despair was understandable. The Champions League would be passed around a six-club elite.

This autumn we find ourselves applauding Ajax, Borussia Dortmund, Schalke, Shakhtar Donetsk and now Celtic, who lack the individual talent to emulate Chelsea’s opportunistic Champions League win last term but are not content to be grateful group phase also-rans.

“The stadium was spectacular,” said Tito Vilanova, the Barcelona coach. “I have been lucky in my career to have been to many grounds, but I have never seen anything like it. This was their 125th birthday and I wish them many more years.”

A debate could roll on all year about who has the most devoted fans. But a friend did tell me that his doctor brother tried to stitch a head wound to a Celtic supporter at a friendly game in England and was told to stop when the victim noticed the surgical thread was blue. He would rather shed more blood than have Rangers’ colours sewn into his skin.

Somewhere between madness and love, this fanaticism did for Barcelona on a night when the Celtic team and their disciples were indivisible. Money can’t buy you that.

BBC Celtic 2 Barcelona 1

7 November 2012 Last updated at 21:49
By Alasdair Lamont BBC Scotland at Celtic Park
Celtic took a massive step towards the last 16 of the Champions League with an astonishing victory over Barcelona.

They took the lead when Victor Wanyama rose majestically to head past Victor Valdes from a corner on 21 minutes.

Barcelona pressed for an equaliser, but teenager Tony Watt came off the bench to give Celtic a cushion in the closing minutes.

Lionel Messi tapped home in injury time, but Celtic held on to inflict Barca’s first defeat of the season.

It was a momentous victory for manager Neil Lennon, who was part of the team that knocked Barca out of the Uefa Cup in 2004, and his men – banishing memories of the injury-time defeat in Barcelona a fortnight ago.

And it leaves Celtic second behind the Catalans in Group G on seven points, three ahead of next opponents Benfica and four better off than Spartak Moscow, who visit Glasgow on the final matchday.

Celtic Park was rocking at a decibel level previously reserved for the most meaningful of Old Firm derbies, but predictably the unflappable maestros of Barcelona, twice champions of Europe in the last four years, paid the partisan crowd no heed as they quickly settled into their fluid passing game.
Euro highlights at Celtic Park

It brought them the first opportunity of the game six minutes in, but Fraser Forster dealt easily with Xavi’s shot despite a touch from Alexis Sanchez just in front of the keeper.

Messi blazed over the bar from a promising position moments later as the pattern of play was quickly established.

Alex Song picked up an early booking for pulling back Miku and a second late challenge on the same player almost cost him his place on the field after just 18 minutes.

Few inside Celtic Park had cause to debate that for long as the home side snatched the opening goal three minutes later.

The source, as in the game at Camp Nou, was a Charlie Mulgrew set-piece – this time a corner from the right.

His deep delivery was met forcefully by Wanyama, who outjumped Jordi Alba – the man whose late winner broke Celtic hearts two weeks ago – and headed high past Valdes to send the crowd into raptures.

The manner of the goal again highlighted an aerial vulnerability in the otherwise practically flawless Barcelona make-up.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon (right) celebrates a famous win

Lennon (right) is enjoying his first crack at the Champions League group stage as a manager

They quickly resumed their relentless probing of the Celtic defence, almost finding an equaliser as Messi played a one-two with Andres Iniesta before rifling a shot off the top of the crossbar.

The frame of the goal came to Celtic’s rescue again as Alexis got on the end of a Dani Alves cross only to see his header come back off the post.

And then Kelvin Wilson scrambled the ball off the line as an Alba cross caused hearts to flutter in the stands.

Nonetheless, unlike in the previous meeting, Celtic held onto their lead until half-time and it was fully 11 minutes into the second period before Forster was meaningfully called into action, diving to his right to stop a curling Messi effort.
Play media

Celtic, who last featured in the group phase in 2008, made Valdes work from another corner, though Mikael Lustig’s header lacked the power to really test him.

Forster, sublime in Camp Nou, reproduced that form on the hour mark as he got down quickly to push away Alexis’s well-struck shot from 10 yards and the keeper was promptly back to his feet to deny the Chilean on the rebound as well.

Marc Bartra almost gifted Celtic a second goal, waiting on Valdes to come and deal with a cross ball. When the keeper chose to stay on his line, Mulgrew looked poised to volley past him, but Bartra recovered to block the shot.

The Celtic fans bayed for a red card for Song midway through the half for another foul on Miku, but the referee again let him off.
Play media

Forster pulled off another outstanding stop to scoop yet another Messi shot up and away and the Argentine also saw a free kick comfortably held with eight minutes remaining.

The keeper dispatched the ball upfield, Xavi failed to cut it out and Watt showed composure beyond his years to bury it past Valdes.

Celtic fans were whistling at deafening levels for referee Bjorn Kuipers to end the game, perhaps mindful of losing a 2-0 lead in the final few minutes at Dundee United on Sunday.

And Messi ensured a nervy final few minutes as he scored at the start of injury time, following up after Forster had saved superbly again, but Tito Vilanova’s side could not find another goal and Celtic and their supporters were left to celebrate long into the night.
Lineup, Bookings (3) & Substitutions (5)

Live Text Commentary
90:00 +4:00 Full time

Full Time The referee signals the end of the game.
90:00 +2:41

Centre by Lionel Messi, clearance by Charlie Mulgrew.
90:00 +2:25

The ball is delivered by da Silva Dani Alves, clearance by Efe Ambrose.
90:00 +1:57

Kris Commons concedes a free kick for a foul on Andres Iniesta. Andres Iniesta takes the direct free kick.
90:00 +1:18

Javier Mascherano concedes a free kick for a foul on Tony Watt. Nicolas Fedor Miku takes the free kick.
90:00 +0:37

Assist on the goal came from Rodriguez Pedro.
90:00 +0:37 Goal scored

Goal – Lionel Messi – Celtic 2 – 1 Barcelona A goal is scored by Lionel Messi from close in high into the middle of the goal. Celtic 2-1 Barcelona.
90:00 +0:23

Rodriguez Pedro takes a shot. Save by Fraser Forster.
88:59

Effort from inside the area by David Villa misses to the left of the target.
87:46

Andres Iniesta takes a shot. Save made by Fraser Forster.
87:33

Corner taken short by Lionel Messi.
87:20

Lionel Messi crosses the ball, Charlie Mulgrew manages to make a clearance.
84:18

The ball is delivered by Hernandez Xavi, Rodriguez Pedro takes a shot. Kelvin Wilson gets a block in.
84:41

David Villa produces a right-footed shot from just outside the area that goes harmlessly over the bar.
84:41

Shot from just outside the area by David Villa goes over the bar.
84:18

Hernandez Xavi delivers the ball.
82:40

The assist for the goal came from Fraser Forster.
82:40 Goal scored

Goal – Tony Watt – Celtic 2 – 0 Barcelona Goal scored by Tony Watt from inside the penalty box to the bottom left corner of the goal. Celtic 2-0 Barcelona.
81:29

Free kick awarded for a foul by Efe Ambrose on Andres Iniesta. Shot on goal comes in from Lionel Messi from the free kick, save by Fraser Forster.
80:41

Ramos Jordi Alba takes a shot. Blocked by Efe Ambrose.
78:52 Substitution

Substitution Beram Kayal is brought on as a substitute for Georgios Samaras.
78:18

Effort on goal by David Villa from just outside the penalty area goes harmlessly over the target.
78:05

Outswinging corner taken from the left by-line by Hernandez Xavi.
77:55

Ramos Jordi Alba takes a shot. Kris Commons gets a block in.
77:47

Da Silva Dani Alves sends in a cross, clearance by Adam Matthews.
77:38

A cross is delivered by da Silva Dani Alves, Georgios Samaras gets a block in.
76:29

Effort from just outside the area by Andres Iniesta goes over the target.
75:18

Da Silva Dani Alves challenges Georgios Samaras unfairly and gives away a free kick. Fraser Forster restarts play with the free kick.
75:05

Francesc Fabregas sends in a cross, Victor Wanyama manages to make a clearance.
74:33

The ball is delivered by Ramos Jordi Alba, blocked by Adam Matthews.
71:09 Substitution

Substitution Tony Watt replaces Mikael Lustig.
70:31 Substitution

Substitution Francesc Fabregas comes on in place of Alex Song.
70:21 Substitution

Substitution Gerard Pique replaces Marc Bartra.
69:45

Lionel Messi takes a shot. Save made by Fraser Forster.
68:53

Corner taken short by David Villa.
68:06

Foul by Georgios Samaras on Javier Mascherano, free kick awarded. Marc Bartra takes the direct free kick.
67:18

Alex Song challenges Nicolas Fedor Miku unfairly and gives away a free kick. Fraser Forster takes the free kick.
66:42 Substitution

Substitution (Barcelona) makes a substitution, with David Villa coming on for Alexis Sanchez.
65:13

Free kick taken by Efe Ambrose.
65:13 Booking

Booking Ramos Jordi Alba is cautioned by the ref for unsporting behaviour.
64:55

Unfair challenge on Mikael Lustig by Ramos Jordi Alba results in a free kick.
63:59

Victor Wanyama produces a cross.
62:51

Alexis Sanchez gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Mikael Lustig. Efe Ambrose takes the free kick.
61:31

The assistant referee flags for offside against Victor Wanyama. Free kick taken by Javier Mascherano.
60:16

Da Silva Dani Alves produces a cross.
59:46

Alexis Sanchez takes a shot. Save made by Fraser Forster.
58:02

The referee blows for offside against Nicolas Fedor Miku. Free kick taken by da Silva Dani Alves.
57:04

The ball is delivered by Charlie Mulgrew, Mikael Lustig takes a shot. Save by Victor Valdes.
56:31

Corner taken by Kris Commons.
56:17

Charlie Mulgrew sends in a cross, da Silva Dani Alves gets a block in.
56:17

The ball is delivered by Charlie Mulgrew, Ramos Jordi Alba gets a block in.
56:03

A cross is delivered by Charlie Mulgrew, clearance made by Javier Mascherano.
55:34

Lionel Messi has an effort at goal from 20 yards. Save by Fraser Forster.
54:26

Da Silva Dani Alves sends in a cross.
52:50

Corner taken by Hernandez Xavi, Marc Bartra takes a shot. Save made by Fraser Forster.
52:28

Lionel Messi decides to take the corner short.
52:20

Hernandez Xavi delivers the ball, clearance made by Efe Ambrose.
52:05

Hernandez Xavi crosses the ball, blocked by Kris Commons.
51:45

Hernandez Xavi decides to take a short corner.
50:23

The ball is delivered by da Silva Dani Alves, Rodriguez Pedro has a headed effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the right of the target.
48:52

Centre by da Silva Dani Alves.
45:01

The match restarts for the second half.
45:00 +0:22 Half time

Half Time The ref blows to end the first period.
42:57

Georgios Samaras concedes a free kick for a foul on Marc Bartra. Free kick taken by Marc Bartra.
42:41

Andres Iniesta takes a shot. Kris Commons gets a block in.
40:33

Ramos Jordi Alba takes the free kick.
40:33 Booking

Booking The referee shows Nicolas Fedor Miku a yellow card.
40:24

Nicolas Fedor Miku challenges Andres Iniesta unfairly and gives away a free kick.
40:11

The ball is swung over by Ramos Jordi Alba, save by Fraser Forster.
38:32

The ball is sent over by da Silva Dani Alves, Kris Commons manages to make a clearance.
37:41

Foul by Kelvin Wilson on Rodriguez Pedro, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Hernandez Xavi.
36:08

Da Silva Dani Alves delivers the ball, Alexis Sanchez has a headed effort at goal from close in that strikes the post.
35:52

Kelvin Wilson concedes a free kick for a foul on Alexis Sanchez. Free kick taken by Alexis Sanchez.
35:24

The ball is delivered by da Silva Dani Alves, clearance made by Kelvin Wilson.
33:41

Ramos Jordi Alba produces a cross, Adam Matthews manages to make a clearance.
32:53

Hernandez Xavi produces a right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area that goes harmlessly over the target.
30:16

The ball is swung over by Ramos Jordi Alba, clearance by Joe Ledley.
28:30

Lionel Messi takes a shot.
28:06

A cross is delivered by Ramos Jordi Alba.
26:33

Adam Matthews sends in a cross, save by Victor Valdes.
25:49

Inswinging corner taken right-footed by Hernandez Xavi from the left by-line.
25:36

Da Silva Dani Alves takes a shot. Charlie Mulgrew gets a block in.
24:59

Andres Iniesta takes a shot. Blocked by Kelvin Wilson.
20:35

Charlie Mulgrew provided the assist for the goal.
20:35 Goal scored

Goal – Victor Wanyama – Celtic 1 – 0 Barcelona Victor Wanyama finds the back of the net with a headed goal from close range. Celtic 1-0 Barcelona.
20:02

Corner taken left-footed by Charlie Mulgrew from the right by-line,
19:52

Efe Ambrose crosses the ball, Alexis Sanchez gets a block in.
17:54

Alex Song challenges Nicolas Fedor Miku unfairly and gives away a free kick. Efe Ambrose takes the direct free kick.
17:54

Unfair challenge on Nicolas Fedor Miku by Alex Song results in a free kick. Free kick taken by Victor Wanyama.
17:26

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Kris Commons by Ramos Jordi Alba. Fraser Forster takes the direct free kick.
13:18

Georgios Samaras is caught offside. Victor Valdes restarts play with the free kick.
12:03

Direct free kick taken by Mikael Lustig.
12:03 Booking

Booking Alex Song goes into the book.
11:57

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Nicolas Fedor Miku by Alex Song.
11:07

Georgios Samaras is ruled offside. Free kick taken by Javier Mascherano.
9:57

Kris Commons challenges Alex Song unfairly and gives away a free kick. Alex Song takes the free kick.
7:37

Shot from deep inside the area by Lionel Messi clears the bar.
6:21

Alexis Sanchez takes a shot. Save by Fraser Forster.
6:01

Hernandez Xavi takes a shot.
5:50

A cross is delivered by Rodriguez Pedro, clearance made by Adam Matthews.
5:31

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Andres Iniesta by Kris Commons. Hernandez Xavi restarts play with the free kick.
4:45

Charlie Mulgrew produces a cross, Alex Song makes a clearance.
4:05

Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Georgios Samaras by Javier Mascherano. Charlie Mulgrew takes the free kick.
0:00

The match begins.

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