On this day in 2004, Celtic hosted FC Barcelona in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup. Earlier that day, Madrid had been victim to a terrorist attack, which took the lives of almost 200 people. As such, a minute’s silence was held before an ear-splitting rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone was sang in tribute to the deceased.
Chris Sutton and John Hartson were unavailable, meaning that Craig Beattie started with Larsson up front. The team line up was as follows:
Douglas, Agathe, Varga, Balde, McNamara, Pearson, Lennon, Petrov, Thompson (Sylla 83), Larsson, Beattie,(Marshall 45).
Barca were the form team in Europe and selected this star studded XI:
Valdes, Reiziger (Gerard 64), Puyol, Oleguer, Gabri, Cocu, Xavi, Motta, Ronaldinho (Overmars 88), Luis Garcia (Quaresma 72), Saviola.
Chances were aplenty at both ends in the first half, whilst Motta had upset Bobo Balde with a few sly digs. He was soon to learn that was an error as Bobo made way for him in the tunnel. A major fracas ensued and a few digs were thrown. However, the referee managed to mistake Balde for Douglas and sent off Celtic’s goalkeeper, alongside Motta. This meant that young David Marshall had to come on to make his debut as a 19 year old!
Celtic performed exceptionally in the second 45, getting their rewards when Henrik Larsson nodded Petrov’s cross down to Alan Thompson. The Englishman was poised to take full advantage, scissor kicking into the back of the net from ten yards. And today, Thommo has taken to Twitter to describe the goal as his pleasure!
Boom 💥 my pleasure ⚽️🍀 https://t.co/brYImNBKhY
— Alan Thompson (@Alantommo8) March 11, 2021
Paradise erupted in full confidence of victory, particularly as the game was 10 v 9 at that stage because Saviola had got himself sent off in the 49th minute.
The decibel level was raised even further when the full time whistle sounded to signify an incredible 1-0 victory. Celtic had a terrific side, but Ronaldinho was arguably the best player in the world so to win and keep a clean sheet was extremely commendable. One bookmaker even had a special deal – Thompson to score and Celtic to win 1-0 at odds of 66/1!
The Celtic team showed why it had gone 74 games without losing at home, and in the words of Spanish publication El Mundo Deportivo: “They showed great strength and character, and thanks to the unconditional support of the best fans on the continent, they secured a 1-0 win.”
