Barcelona 0-0 Celtic

Last updated : 26 March 2004 By Kevin Smith
Last night, Celtic held out for a 0-0 draw in the Nou Camp, against FC Barcelona. The Bhoys have progressed to the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Cup, going through 1-0 on aggregate. We will now face another Spanish side, Villareal.

It was a game where Celtic stuck their game plan for 90 minutes, Martin O'Neill got his tactics spot on once again.

Every player was a hero, and a new legend was born in 19 year-old goalkeeper David Marshall. The youngster played out of his skin, and has surely cemented his place in the Celtic first team. Marshall made about seven classic saves, three of which coming in the first ten minutes.

Stan Varga, Stan Petrov and Didier Agathe showed their true potential, and John Kennedy joined Stephen Pearson as quickly maturing Celtic players.

Henrik and Chris up-front had a bad night, but were playing against a world class defence. Even Liam Miller played competently when he came on as a second half substitute.

Celtic had little chances at goal, Henrik Larsson's touch seemed to let him down and also had a shot which was easily saved. Stan Petrov also had a rather poor attempt at goal.

We soaked up all the Barcelona home pressure without conceding a goal - something which most European clubs would fail to do. The full squad have put their names in Celtic history and our biggest task now appears to be holding on to Martin O'Neill.

All in all, the Barcelona trip was superb. The atmosphere in and outside the stadium was sensational, and the Barcelona fans were as friendly as they come.

We're off to Spain again, this time to Villareal, the first leg is Thursday 8th April at Parkhead.

Now, though, is the time to savour the performance which Celtic achieved last night.

Celtic:
Marshall - 10
Varga - 9
McNamara - 7 (Miller - 7)
Kennedy - 9
Agathe - 10
Petrov - 9
Pearson - 8
Lennon - 9
Thompson - 7
Sutton - 7 (Sylla - 6)
Larsson - 7

Celtic-Mad Man of the Match: David Marshall

Celtic-Mad Moment to Remember: The final whistle and the realisation that we knocked Barcelona out of Europe.

Celtic-Mad Moment to Forget: Sobering up.