Video: A Great European Night, 17 Years Ago Today

On this day in 2003, Celtic beat Anderlecht 3-1 in the UEFA Champions League. With a European game tonight, albeit in the Europa League, Celtic will be hoping for a repeat of this performance.

The game featured a young Vincent Kompany at the heart of the Belgian side’s defence and he was terrorised by the deadly trio of Hartson, Sutton and Larsson. To this day, he recalls this game as his toughest test.

It was Larsson who go on the scoresheet first with a delightful deft header. The late Liam Miller made it two, just minutes later, before Sutton completed the rout with a third goal on 29 minutes. Celtic had won the game before half time and a 77th minute goal from the visitors was little more than a consolation strike.

Full time: Celtic 3-1 Anderlecht

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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