Rolling-over St Mirren easily tells you nothing about what will happen at the Camp Nou. As it is, we performed as well as any team in Europe would have last night. Inter Milan and Chelsea won the Champions League in 2010 and 2012 respectively after putting on a similar performance to Celtic in the most testing theatre in football.
The manager, players, supporters and everyone at the club deserve enormous credit for their part in this. Celtic’s achievement is all the more remarkable when you consider they live within their means, and this is not a dig at some former domestic rivalry, the most consistent trait of those currently regarded as uber-teams, including Barcelona, is a refusal to limit expenditure to match income over any business period. We can admire the art of this Barca team while looking forward to the day Financial Fair Play regulations inhibit their expenditure to the £200m-or-so a season more than Celtic’s income.
Barca will know they face a difficult task at Celtic Park in two weeks. Our goal came, as I predicted on Sunday, after a free kick inside the Barcelona half was dropped onto an elevated Celtic head inside the box. When the game is analysed I’m sure the coaches will conclude that we should have invited more challenges in similar areas – on the wing, circa 35 yards from goal. This is an easier area of the field to get possession in than the penalty box and, for Celtic, equally as dangerous.
Messi, Xavi and Iniesta got everything right for their first goal immediately before half time. The passing was fast, tight and each first touch was excellent, but this was a rarity. On all other occasions Celtic forced them into a pass which was too tight or too fast, or to simply make another safe pass and try again.
The second Barcelona goal was a consequence of defending too deep to press the cross. It was the kind of goal you lose in the 94th minute on a huge pitch.
Celtic successfully defended corner kicks zonally. For 70 minutes Barca took short corners, almost always to an unmarked player on the wing, Celtic didn’t mark this player all game, which brought a complaint from me every time, but they defended the zones the needed to inside the penalty area. Conceding possession outside the box looked like a conscious decision. Eventually Messi was reduced to pitching corners down the throat of the Celtic defence with predictable results.
There is still have a hard job ahead to qualify for the knock out stage or for the Europa League but we have gone toe-to-toe with every team in the group and have competed admirably with each – which was regarded as an objective as recently as last month. I’m enjoying my football this season.
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I don’t think BBJ scored until about his 12th game for us,Miku and Lassad have showed in flashes that they have ability.Due to Sammi being out,I would tell Tony Watt he is playing the next half dozen games,inc Benfica.
Night bhoys,maybe tomorrow I will get over that goal.HH
Time for the pit.
Take care and god bless Timland, and so proud to be part of it.
HH
!!Bada Bing!!
I won’t :>)
TET,
I could ask his brother, but as you say, probably no be able to tell anyone ha, everybody would know, and I’d probably cause him trouble, safer if I know nothing :oD))))
Clashcitybhoy
Must admit I thought Miku might have got on as a sub in preference to young Forrest.
Thought his close ball control v St. Mirren (for the short time he was on and his likely knowledge of Spanish football) would have been a plus.
The last 2 nights CL highlights have shown that key-goals by strikers have all had one thing in common – stick-ability – ball to feet & control and make space (for team-mate) or control & strike.
We did a lot that was right last night – unfortunately we couldn’t make it stick upfield when we came out of defence with the ball unlike in Moscow.
In fairness – it’s a work in progress and we are showing vast improvement (individually and collectively) these past 12 months.
Off to bed feeling a little less stressed than last night.
Some of tonight’s CL results put our epic display in perspective – we’ve come a long way since: Kilmarnock 3 Celtic 3!
Goodnight and H!H!
.
Any Update on Sammi’s injury..?
Summa
Off topic.
The British family ( of Iraqi origin ) murdered in France a number of weeks back, TV news been very quiet about this given the ‘random’ horrific act on this family.
Interesting that the cyclist who was shot in the incident now appears to have been the first victim and not the last victim as was originally thought.
Just get a feeling all is now what it seems with this case.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221429/Brother-Alps-shooting-victim-criticises-French-police-concentrating-family-feud-leads.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
In thought we really missed big Sammy’s out ball late in the game. The one frustrating thing was the lack of composure we should on defence last night,and before anyone says anything I know who we were playing, but there were times that we could have had more control or found a man, especially since we have been very solid at the back domestically.
All in all we learned a few things and will be tougher in two weeks and I think Barca no that too.
gsu
should= showed
no=know
estorilbhoy
00:12 on
25 October, 2012
Read the article last week where they were speculating about some nuclear connection
gsu
Hail Hail all! long time reader and first time poster, just to say I love CQN and the fantastic input of everyone on the site. well done to paul and all
Everything is for the best, in these best of all possible times.
Doctor Pangloss CSC.
How sweet it is.
celticbadger1888
mmm unusual name.
Are you a hun?
onlyjokingcsc
Celticbadger1888
First time post at this unearthly hour?
Dutch courage meethinks…
Australia eh
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32846.htm
Celtic played well and if they keep playing like that we could win the league again this season.
rimtimtim
20:22 on
24 October, 2012
In Mollies?
RTVE.es reported broadcaster La 1’s coverage of the FC Barcelona and Celtic clash at the Camp Nou was watched by an average of 5.73 million people
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
01:27 on
25 October, 2012
Australia eh
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article32846.htm
John Pilger eh.
macjay..,
how many awards has he picked up
Cana
How many awards has Australia picked up?
Voted onto U.N.security council last week.
Heavily supported by developing nations.
Pilger awards?
From Izvestia,Pravda,the freedon loving govt.of Ecuador etc. etc ?
An Aussie ex-pat who cares so much about indigenous Aussies that he buggered off to earn a quid in U.K.,as any capitalist would.
Chardonnay socialist par excellence..
A shameless self publicist who knows that saying something controversial always evokes a response.Ergo here and now.
You must be bored ,mate.No?
.
*Note to Self*
Buy more BHP Shares as Rio Tinto is Fading..
Summa of UranusMiningCSC
macjay…,
so you dispute the information in his article, you’ll obviously have evidence to counter his assertions
.
Team made from raw material has been redefined in Europe
Michael Grant
IF there has been an understandable rush to praise Neil Lennon in the aftermath of Celtic’s terrific attempt to defy Barcelona in Camp Nou, then at the very least the manager deserves to be afforded a proper appreciation of exactly what he got right.
In some quarters, Celtic’s 93 minutes of defiance against arguably the world’s greatest side has been hailed as a tactical masterstroke by Lennon, only undone by Jordi Alba’s goal deep in stoppage time. Lennon himself would not regard his own tactics as the defining characteristic of a proud night for him and his club, though. His success in Camp Nou – success which withstood the entirely predictable outcome of an eventual Barcelona win – instead should be measured in other ways. Namely, his growing ability to identify highly promising players and blend them into a highly motivated team.
Celtic didn’t do anything innovative in Camp Nou. The attempt to live with Barcelona was helped by the fact umpteen other clubs have previously tried every trick in the book in a usually fruitless attempt to do so, so all the tactical templates are widely known including trying to suffocate their majestic playmakers. Lennon sent out a back four with four midfielders protecting them – entirely routine – although there was the courageous twist of playing with two forwards, Georgios Samaras and Gary Hooper alternating between front man and secondary striker.
There was no “anti-football” strategy from Celtic. They were forced to chase shadows for most of the night, almost constantly on the back foot, because Barcelona’s brilliance reduced them to that. Lennon had not sent out his team only to defend, but like the vast majority of visitors in Camp Nou they had no say in the matter.
What was admirable about the display wasn’t any tactical sophistication in what Fraser Forster, Kelvin Wilson, Efe Ambrose, Victor Wanyama, Joe Ledley and Charlie Mulgrew did, but in the discipline and enormous commitment they and the other Celtic players showed in working themselves to the point of exhaustion against a team that made almost 1000 passes.
They worked tirelessly and were constantly switched on to react to Barcelona’s endless interrogation. Lennon had spent time hammering it home to his players that the Catalan side could inflict damage from the first second to the very last – how right he was – but they followed his orders almost perfectly. Iniesta’s goal was too well-executed to be realistically preventable although James Forrest let his concentration slip for a crucial moment and wasn’t aggressive enough in tracking Alba’s run at the killer goal. That was all it took.
Being able to just about survive the mauling teams get in Barcelona inevitably invites a reassessment of this Celtic side. How far can it go? It is Lennon’s team. He signed nine of the 11 players who started and the combined fee spent to assemble the entire side was only £13.3m, plus another £1.5m-worth of used substitutes. Martin O’Neill twice earned draws in Barcelona but his teams were different: they contained seasoned professionals assembled for relatively high fees. Lennon has put together a group on a modest budget, every one of whom is playing at a higher level now than he did at his previous clubs.
Without airbrushing the fact they left the stadium as losers, Camp Nou witnessed further evidence that Celtic have learned how to play away from home in Europe. “We have shown this season that we deserve our place alongside Europe’s elite clubs,” said chief executive Peter Lawwell.
One of the lessons from folding 3-0 at Braga, 4-0 at Utrecht and 3-1 at Sion in the manager’s first two full seasons was that he did not have the defenders he needed. A number have moved on, while Mikael Lustig and Kelvin Wilson are looking like better players than they did at first, Ambrose has been immediately impressive, Emilio Izaguirre is recovering form and Mulgrew and especially Wanyama have been invaluable. All of them will be required again for the ordeal of dealing with Barcelona again at Parkhead on November 7. Samaras and Scott Brown may miss that tie through injury, but Celtic left Spain with no psychological wounds.
Group G could yet slip away from them, perhaps if they lose to Barcelona and Spartak Moscow beat Benfica again, but Tuesday night will surely have lasting relevance for this team. There was a sense from the players after the match that they had pretty much handled the stiffest test they will ever face in football, which will empower them for any subsequent challenge.
“Normally, when a team comes here, Barcelona will beat them easily,” said Biram Kayal, the Celtic midfielder. “That hasn’t happened to us. There is a big difference in this team from one year ago, the team has gelled now. Most of us have been together for two years now, almost three, and there is a lot of power there now. We have a lot of confidence and we feel anything is possible.
“We always believed we can do something at this level. We had difficulties in the past when we played away from home but that is no longer the case. Before Barcelona, we hadn’t lost away in almost a year. And now it’s taken a goal right at the end to beat us. We believe it’s possible to qualify.”
Summa
.
Looks like Bad news for Sammi..
..
SWEET SIXTEEN
Beram Kayal (left) has refused to let his head drop after Celtic’s defeat
BERAM KAYAL last night insisted Celtic are still right on course to defy the odds and qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League.
But the Hoops may have to do a lot of the hard work without the crocked Georgios Samaras, who is toiling with an ankle injury.
Israeli midfielder Kayal has refused to let his head drop despite the heartbreak of conceding a last-minute goal in a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday night.
Celtic lie second in Group G at the halfway stage with four points and home games to come against Barcelona and Spartak sandwiched by an away trip to Lisbon to face Benfica.
Kayal insists the way the Hoops have performed in Europe last season and so far in this campaign gives them the belief they can upset the rankings and finish second in the section. Kayal said: “Before Barca, we hadn’t lost away in almost a year.
And now it’s taken a goal right at the end by Barcelona to beat us.
Beram Kayal
“And now it’s taken a goal right at the end by Barcelona to beat us.
“We still have to be happy that we are second in the group at the halfway point. We also have two home games to come and have to go to Lisbon.
“Of course we believe it’s possible to qualify. We thought we could do it when the draw was made and we believe it now.”
Celtic striker Samaras cut a disconsolate figure as he jetted back into Glasgow yesterday in the early hours of the morning.
The striker had a scan after he badly twisted his left ankle in the first half of Tuesday’s game, although there was no official word from the club on how long the Greek is likely to be out for.
SEARCH FOOTBALL for:
The striker sustained ligament and muscle damage and travelled home wearing a protective plastic boot to avoid any further damage.
Celtic will be praying the striker can recover to play a role in Europe again before Christmas, having netted in four consecutive away games this season for the Hoops.
UEFA have credited him with the goal at the Nou Camp despite the last touch coming from Javier Mascherano, and that adds to his strikes on the road in Helsinki, Helsingborg and Moscow.
Summa
Neil canamalar Lennon hunskelper extrordinaire
04:42 on
25 October, 2012
No doubt you have a healthy scepticism about standards of Scottish journalism.
Extend that to Pilger.
One example.Maralinga atomic test.One aboriginal blinded APPARENTLY as a result.
Proof?
Aboriginal blindness was very sadly common in the `50s
Hiroshima,Nagasaki …compare and contrast.
Scant or no warning.
Well,which was it?
Incidentally.I don`t have to provide evidence or proof.
He does and fails to.
Summa
Big sammi has turned his celtic career round in 12 months and the faith shown in him by neil lennon and o1bhoy to be vindicated
I always rated him … Just found him v frustrating
Anyone know if return game at paradise will be shown in australia ?
macjay…,
so nothing but denial no change there then,
Scant or no warning.
Well,which was it?
to me obviously both, they exposed their own troops what makes you think they would treat indigenous population any better, oh wait britain has an unsurpassed record of fair and equal treatment of indigenous peoples all over the world dont they.
I note no mention about trading uranium with people who refuse to sign the NPT I can only surmise that you agree with this policy, which is no real surprise, war and arms is the easiest money a capitalist can make.
.
ProudBhoy..
Should be on SBS again..Try their website or The World GameSBS.com.au they give you upcoming Games weeks in Advance..
Summa
.
The ‘Boy’ Jinky..
Re; My Bhoy Georgious..If l had a Dollar for every time Someone offered to Pay for Sammi’s Taxi fair to the Airport..
I Would be..
Errrm..
Over $60,000 better Off..:O)
Summa
CRAIG WHYTE IN TODAY’S SUN….
http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/4608243/Craig-Whyte-Ive-been-Duffed-up.html
Summa
How many magners would that buy you :)
Cana
The only point I make is about Pilger.
If you feel he is someone to be respected for fair and accurate reporting,fine.
I look for the truth,irrespective of my preconceived notions.
Pilger preaches to the ideologically converted.
Hands up?
Uranium?Cuban missile crisis.No mention of the murderous Kruschev who sent the missiles or of Castro who will be forever remembered as the the man who introduced nuclear weapons to Latin America.
No.Pilger has a go at J.F.K.who defused the crisis when nutters like Curtis Lemay were urging him to bombralotorem ,by agreeing to remove missiles from Turkey.
If Pilger`s your cup of tea,please yourself.
I prefer unbiased accurate reporting of facts.
You`re right.
Hard to find.
.
The ‘Boy’ Jinky..
Google word Predictor has Your Name ‘Jinky’ as Pinky..Dinky..and Kinky..What One are You..?
Summa of SasperillaCSC