- Juventus took a giant step towards the quarterfinals of the European Champions League following a crushing 3-0 win over Celtic.
Alesandro Matri's early
strike and further goals from Claudio Marchisio and Mirko Vucinic
completed a perfect night's work for the Italian champions.
There was also success
for Paris Saint-Germain, which claimed a 2-1 away win at Valencia,
although it must do without star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the
second leg after he was shown a straight red card.
Ezequiel Lavezzi and
Javier Pastore had given the French club a two goal lead at the break,
but Adil Rami's late strike and Ibrahimovic's dismissal means its all to
play for in the French capital in three weeks time.
While PSG might still
have to sweat, no such problems are expected for Serie A leaders and
two-time European Cup winners Juventus.
Dressed in all black and
surrounded by the cauldron of Celtic Park, Juventus headed out to face
one of the most intimidating atmospheres in European football.
With the majority of the
57,917 crowd clad in green and white bellowing out their support for the
Scottish champion, it was clear that this night was something special.
Back in the knockout
phase for the first time in five years, Celtic was dreaming of the glory
days when it ruled the continent following its legendary cup final win
of 1967.
The victory over the
might of Inter Milan in Lisbon, led to the team, which was to become
known as the 'Lisbon Lions', becoming the first non-Latin side to win
the trophy.
Managed by the legendary Jock Stein, all of the players were born within a 30 mile radius of Glasgow.
On May 24 1967, Lisbon was overrun with the green and white of Celtic and not that of local club Sporting.
Goals from Tommy Gemmel
and Stevie Chalmers secured victory over an Inter side which had won
three of the four past editions of the competition.
"There is not a prouder man on God's Earth than me at this moment," said Stein following the triumph.
"Winning was important, but it was the way that we won that has filled me with satisfaction.
"We did it by playing football; pure, beautiful, inventive football. There was not a negative thought in our heads."
That night in Lisbon is
never far from memory whenever the words 'Europe' and 'Celtic' are
mentioned in the same breath. They are synonomous.
The success of the past
generation is a reminder of how Celtic became the first British club to
win the competition, a fact which supporters are quick to point out at
every opportunity.
But while it has
dominated domestically in recent years, helped by the downfall of fierce
rival Glasgow Rangers, success in Europe has been more difficult to
achieve.
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Not since it lost to
Porto in the 2003 UEFA Cup final had Celtic hit the European headlines,
that was until this year and its shock victory over Barcelona.
A 2-1 home win against the La Liga champions helped Neil Lennon's side qualify for the last-16 and a meeting with Juventus.
While the visitor appeared favorite on paper, Celtic's home form in the Champions League has been nothing short of remarkable.
In its 23 matches before welcoming Juventus, Celtic had suffered just two defeats, while winning 15 and drawing six.
With the second leg in
Turin on March 6 to come, the home side would have hoped to secure a
result in a bid to keep the tie alive.
The atmosphere suggested
a gladiatorial arena, the bloodcurdling noise of Celtic Park rose as
the players emerged. This was Celtic's time.
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Or perhaps not. Instead, it took Juventus just three minutes to silence one of European football's most intimidating arenas.
On Sunday, Efe Ambrose
was celebrating Nigeria's victory in the final of the Africa Cup of
Nations -- but on a freezing February night in Glasgow he was left to
rue a horrendous defensive error.
It was his mistake which
allowed Federico Peluso's long ball to release Alessandro Matri and the
striker fired home, despite Kelvin Wilson trying to clear off the line.
The shock and horror was
etched across the faces of the Celtic players, but slowly and surely,
those emblazoned with the green and white began to show its famous
spirit.
Kris Commons came
agonizingly close to an equalizer when his overhead kick sailed just
inches wide of the far post, while Ambrose should have netted with a
free header just after the hour mark.
That miss was to be
severely punished as Juventus wrapped the game up with 13 minutes
remaining when Matri released Marchisio, who turned Scott Brown and
slotted the ball home.
Worse was to come for Celtic with 83 minutes on the clock when Ambrose, who only returned from South Africa on Tuesday morning, gave away possession and Vucinic raced in to score.We need a miracle," Celtic manager Lennon told ITV. "But it's the harsh reality of Champions League football and some of my young players will learn a huge lesson tonight.
"I thought for 70-odd
minutes, until the second goal, we were by far the better side -- but
you can't give away goals like we gave away, sloppy."
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On a day when wrestling
was dropped from the Olympics, Lennon was frustrated with the way
Juventus' defenders manhandled his players at set-pieces.
Time and time again,
defender Stephane Lichtsteiner was grappling with Gary Hooper and Scott
Brown inside the penalty area, but nothing was forthcoming from referee
Alberto Undiano Mallenco.
"I'd like to ask the referee, is the game different in Spain or Italy?" Lennon said.
"Every time one of my players tried to move he was held. He should have given a penalty on at least two occasions."
While that win all but
secures Juventus' place in the last eight, PSG faces a more difficult
proposition following an infuriatingly frustrating second half
performance.
In front of a watching
David Beckham, who is hoping to make his debut within the next few
weeks, PSG showed why they should be feared in this year's competition.
Leading 2-0 thanks to
goals from Lavezzi and Pastore, Carlo Ancelotti's men missed several
golden opportunities and could have easily scored four or five at the
Mestalla.
Lavezzi, who has now
scored in each of his past three Champions League games, should have had
a hat-trick only to miss two simple chances.
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That wastefulness was punished in the final minute when Rami bundled home from close range to give the home side hope.
The tie then took
another twist when Ibrahimovic was shown a straight red card for a
controversial studs up challenge on Andres Guardado.
"Ibrahimovic did not
deserve the red card. I don't understand the decision," Ancelotti told
French Canal Plus television at full time.
"We played well and had
chances to score more goals. It was a good team performance, but this
was just the first leg. There is still the return to come."
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