Celtic FC - FC Barcelona: head to head and statistics

Celtic FC - FC Barcelona, 7 Nov 2012

It was an evening that etched itself permanently into football history. Celtic Glasgow defeated FC Barcelona 2:1 on Champions League Matchday 4, delivering the perfect present for the club's 125th anniversary. Just like two weeks earlier at the Camp Nou, Neil Lennon's men relied on a rock-solid defense and ruthless efficiency upfront.

The first opportunity came in the 21st minute. Charlie Mulgrew delivered a precise corner kick into the box, where the towering Victor Wanyama outleaped Jordi Alba to head the ball home, triggering absolute euphoria at Celtic Park. A frustrated Barcelona pinned the hosts into their own penalty area, but the Scottish defense remained a monolith. Fraser Forster produced a brilliant fingertip save to tip Lionel Messi's shot onto the crossbar, and Alexis Sanchez hit the post minutes later.

The script remained unchanged after the break—Barcelona exchanged hundreds of passes but kept running into a brick wall. Lionel Messi did everything he could to break the deadlock, but the Argentine repeatedly found himself thwarted by the inspired Forster, who pulled off a string of impossible saves.

In the 83rd minute, the English goalkeeper turned provider for the decisive blow. His long, booming clearance bypassed a misplaced Mascherano and fell perfectly for Tony Watt. The 18-year-old striker showed ice-cold composure to slot the ball past Victor Valdes. Incredibly, the youngster had come off the bench just 11 minutes earlier to make a fearless Champions League debut. Messi managed a consolation goal in stoppage time, but it was too late. Despite boasting nearly 89% possession, the Catalan giants were famously tamed.