Big preparation begins ahead of the March 4th Champions League cracker between FC Barcelona and Celtic.
Ahead of the second leg match between FC Barcelona and Celtic Glasgow, the city council are already in top gear towards making sure everything goes well for both the home team, FC Barcelona, the visiting team, Celtic Glasgow and the host city and its residents in Barcelona.
Celtic Glasgow's coach Gordon Strachan has thrown his hats out for the superior quality of the Catalan giants.
The Scottish veteran of FIFA World Cups was not able to lend his experience as a player to his boys as they crumbled to a far more gifted Barca side who knew how to pass the ball around and how to score. Strachan was well entertained by the beauty of the Blaugrana, who emerged 3-2 winners after the match. Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Celtic coach admitted his boys met a stronger opponent, but thought the Scottish team would have done better than it did, even while they enjoyed some brief moments of staying ahead score-wise. Gordon Strachan said:
It's very difficult against an excellent Barcelona side. We're disappointed. I think they were excellent. Loads of great players and they're hard to play against. We thought we did okay in bits maybe in the first half and got the lead, but I don't think any of us were good tonight. We thought we could have done better at home, individually and collectively as a team. It was hard in the end, but we lost the goals to some great finishes from Barca. It's quite hard to get the ball off them.
Strachan admits that he and the entire Celtic team has learnt a lot from FC Barcelona in this single encounter:
It's a bit of a learning curve for us, but credit to Barcelona they were excellent. Hopefully we can have a better return leg.
FC Barcelona brought the entire Scotland to its feet with spectacular football against Scottish hosts, Celtic in Glasgow. The Blaugrana were in total dominance of the encounter, having 71% of total ball possession compared to Celtic's 29% and out-shooting the hosts with 24 shots at goal compared to Celtic's 5. Celtic had only one corner-kick through out the match. Beyond doubt, Barca deserved to be winners for the night, and win they did, with a 3-2 scoreline. Even though the Catalan giants had their coach Frank Rijkaard on the stands as he served his suspension for being sent off against Lyon, the superstars boosted their confidence by having Johan Neeskens on the bench in Rijkaard's place.
Celtic looked impressive at the beginning of the encounter but it was Barca who got the ball to obey its pace, as the Catalan giants seized control of the game and dazzled Celtic. The build up from Barca was
almost rewarded in the 13th minute when Iniesta forced a great save from Celtic's keeper Boruc, and Henry curled the rebound towards the gaping corner of the net, only for Paul Curdis to save the moment by heading off the line.
In quick response, Celtic launched their own attack two minutes later and with some questionable positioning, Venegoor of Hesselink headed in the ball into Valdes' net for the opening goal of the day.
Trailing 1-0, Barca came out in full force and tore the Celtic defence apart. Their venom was effective just three minutes after the Celtic goal, when Lionel Messi made a beautiful one-two interchange with Deco and finished off the display with a beautiful goal to level things at 1-1.
But Rangers were not to be taken for granted, even though the hosts entered the match as underdogs. The team quickly reorganized itself and absorbed much of Barca's deadly attacks, as the Blaugrana were superior in all departments. However, it was Celtic again, who moved ahead by drawing second blood, this time through a goal from Robson in the 38th minute. Aiden McGeady's lob was effectively dodged by V. of Hesselink and Mc Donald, who made to draw away from the ball, leaving McGeady with a chance to send the ball over Barca's keeper Victor Valdes with a great header. It was 2-1 to Celtic and the home fans went wild and remained in that state through out the half-time period.
The second half resumed with FC Barcelona controling the pace like they did at the beginning of the first half. Just seven minutes into the half, Thierry henry showed why he was the undisputed French goal king , when the Frenchman received a great pass from Ronaldinho who had benefited from a gift of a pass from Caldwell. Henry sailed into the corner of the area and unleashed a stunning strike that curled itself into the far corner of the net. The goal was truly a beauty to behold.
With scores level once again at 2-2, Celtic seemed to concede to the fact that they may not be able to overcome the stronger and more talented hosts right on their home soil. Lionel Messi was let lose in the 62nd minute and the Argentine gave a warning of what was to come, when he released a shot that keeper Boruc saved. Thierry henry could have made it three goals for Barca, but the Frenchman's effort went narrowly off.
Lionel Messi, sensing Celtic never took his earlier warning seriously, reappeared in the 79th minute to punish the battling Celtic by burying the hopes of the Scottish team with his second goal of the night. The Argentine received a ball that had bounced off Celtic's defenders from a swift Eto'o pass, and Messi shook off a bedazzled Caldwell before placing the ball neatly into Boruc's net.
The deed was done.
My Comments:
With a 3-2 win over Celtic, FC Barcelona will go into the second leg of the Champions League encounter as almost certain victors, especially as the match will be played in Camp Nou. Celtic must be preparing for next season's Champions League event, as this will be the most advisable thing to do after the 3-2 loss to Barca right in Scotland. It will be easier to walk from the north-pole to the south-pole than to salvage the scoreline in Camp Nou.
Glasgow club, Celtic have sent clear warning signs to FC Barcelona ahead of the champions league knock-out clash.
The Scottish club remained firm at the top of the Scottish league with another convincing performance, hitting three past Gretna and hitting another three on the opponents woodwork before the match ended. Celtic were clearly in control of the match from start to finish, giving the likes of McDonald, McGeady and Brown the opportunity to showcase fine skills, each scoring on the night. FC Barcelona will need to be extra careful against the rampaging Scots when both sides meet in the champions league second stage in a winner takes all, two-legged face-off.
The Scottish veteran of FIFA World Cups was not able to lend his experience as a player to his boys as they crumbled to a far more gifted Barca side who knew how to pass the ball around and how to score. Strachan was well entertained by the beauty of the Blaugrana, who emerged 3-2 winners after the match. Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Celtic coach admitted his boys met a stronger opponent, but thought the Scottish team would have done better than it did, even while they enjoyed some brief moments of staying ahead score-wise. Gordon Strachan said:
It's very difficult against an excellent Barcelona side. We're disappointed. I think they were excellent. Loads of great players and they're hard to play against. We thought we did okay in bits maybe in the first half and got the lead, but I don't think any of us were good tonight. We thought we could have done better at home, individually and collectively as a team. It was hard in the end, but we lost the goals to some great finishes from Barca. It's quite hard to get the ball off them. 
The Scottish club remained firm at the top of the Scottish league with another convincing performance, hitting three past Gretna and hitting another three on the opponents woodwork before the match ended. Celtic were clearly in control of the match from start to finish, giving the likes of McDonald, McGeady and Brown the opportunity to showcase fine skills, each scoring on the night. FC Barcelona will need to be extra careful against the rampaging Scots when both sides meet in the champions league second stage in a winner takes all, two-legged face-off.