Celtic coach Neil Lennon declared it one of the greatest nights in the Glasgow club’s history, as Celtic beat FC Barcelona, 2-1, at Celtic Park on Wednesday night. The resultmeans that Celtic is now second place in Group G of the UEFA Champions League with seven points, just two behind Barca, which endured its first loss in the group stages of the competition in more thanthree years.
It was enough to reduce rockerRod Stewart to tears.
“I think it was one of the greatest nights in the club’s recent history,” Lennon said. “It was very poignant at our 125thanniversary, one to play Barcelona in such a prestigious game and two, to win the game under huge difficulties with the squad decimated by injuries and illness. The players are heroes, they are heroesto me, I can’t speak highly enough of their performance tonight and they will go down in the history books of the club as the team who beat probably the best team in the world.”
After the game, Barca coach Tito Vilanova and playmaker XaviHernandez both paid tribute to Celtic’s fans, which created an incredible atmosphere. “The stadium was spectacular,” Vilanova told Canal Plus. “I have been lucky in my career tohave been to many stadiums, but I have never seen anything like it. This was their 125th birthday and I wish them many more years.” Xavi added: “(The stadium) is a marvel, the fans, the people, howthey support their team. It is an example for every team.”