| Match Pictures | Matches: 2001 – 2002 | 2001-02 Pictures |
Trivia
- Champions League 2001-02
- In 2012, UEFA highlighted this on their website, tagging it as a classic match. See report at end of page.
- Celtic with 9pts and don't qualify to KO stages. Juventus and Porto go through.
Review
As much as this game was a formality for Juventus who had already qualified, for Celtic it was more than that and it all combined to make for one of the most genuinely entertaining nights for both clubs.
Some wonderful goals with a great win for Celtic, but all so bitter-sweet as we ended up in the UEFA cup with a then record of 9pts to not qualify!
Teams
Celtic:
Douglas,
Balde, Mjallby, Valgaeren, Agathe,
Lennon, Lambert, Moravcik, Petta,
Larsson, Sutton.
Subs: Kharine, Sylla, McNamara, Thompson, Hartson, Tebily, Petrov.
Goals: Valgaeren 24, Sutton 45 64, Larsson 57pen |
Juventus:
Carini, Iuliano, Ferrara, Zenoni, Paramatti, Birindelli, Nedved, Maresca, Davids, Del Piero, Amoruso. Subs: Buffon, Pessotto, Trezeguet, Tacchinardi, Frara, Piccolo, Luca Rondinella.
Goals: Del Piero 19 Trezeguet 51 77
Referee: Giles Veissiere (France).
Attendance:
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
- Match Report (BBC)
- Roddy Forsyth report (BBC)
- MoN Interview (BBC)
- Celtic "sick but proud" (BBC)
Pictures
Articles
Celtic's heroics fall just short
Michael Walker at Celtic Park
The Guardian, Thursday 1 November 2001 03.16 GMT
Glorious failure is not Martin O'Neill's favourite concept but the Celtic manager saw his team exit the Champions League gloriously last night. Inspired by the 36-year-old Lubomir Moravcik, Celtic did what they had to do, overcoming an Alessandro del Piero opener to lead at one stage 4-2 courtesy of two Chris Sutton goals. But the news of Rosenborg's defeat in Oporto means that it is the Uefa Cup now for Celtic.
On this evidence they deserve the consolation. When Del Piero departed David Trezeguet came on to score twice but a Joos Valgaeren header and a Henrik Larsson penalty gave Celtic their third home win. Sadly for them, while nine points was good enough for qualification in other groups, it was not in theirs.
After the heated debate in Scotland about O'Neill's tactics and how his perceived inflexibility contributed to Celtic's defeats in Oporto and Trondheim, the Ulsterman sprang something of a surprise by dropping Stilian Petrov and including Moravcik.
It may have seemed a mere tinkering with O'Neill's preferred system but Moravcik's selection was for creative reasons. Celtic had to win and his Gianfranco Zola style of footwork was clearly thought to be one way of loosening what was anticipated to be a typically tight Italian defence.
Larsson had gone four games without registering a goal, and Juve's comfortable manner in the early exchanges did not suggest a personal breakthrough was imminent for the Swede.
With Pavel Nedved exerting his influence in midfield and Del Piero assured in front of him, Juventus controlled the first ten minutes and had the lead by the 19th.
Del Piero it was who started the scoring. Having been fouled by a combination of Valgaeren and Moravcik, the striker dusted himself down before curling an exquisite free-kick over the wall and past Robert Douglas from 20 yards.
Parkhead was stunned, perhaps by the beauty, but Celtic's reaction was not one of admiration. Moravcik was on form and in the next Celtic attack he twisted and turned Michele Paramatti three times on the right before delivering a tempting centre that produced a diving header from Valgaeren past Carini. The two Celtic players who had fouled Del Piero had made amends.
With Moravcik really twinkling now, Celtic began to flow. A giant dummy from the Slovakian teed up Didier Agathe for a spectacular blast three minutes later and ten minutes before the interval Larsson missed a free header from six yards.
It was an indication of Moravcik's performance that when Sutton did give Celtic that 2-1 advantage it was from his corner. Sutton still had plenty to do but he did it emphatically.
There were still two minutes of first-half injury-time left when Agathe rampaged down the right and centred fast and low. A third goal seemed certain but Alessandro Birindelli got there first and though he nearly put the ball in his own net, it slid agonizingly wide.
Instead of it being 3-1 to Celtic, in the 51st minute it was 2-2. Trezeguet had hardly touched the ball but when he did it was with devastating force. A left-foot drive screeched past Douglas.
Celtic's response? More attack. Valgaeren missed another header but by the 56th minute Celtic were ahead again. Sutton was manhandled at a corner by Mark Iuliano and Larsson strode up to convert the penalty kick.
Any notion of resting on their lead, however, disappeared in the next surge. From it Sutton produced a quite magnificent left-foot volley and it was only a fine save from Carini that stopped a volley from Larsson making it 5-2 sixty seconds later before Trezeguet scored his second.
Celtic (3-4-1-2): Douglas; Balde, Mjallby, Valgaeren; Agathe, Lennon, Lambert, Petta; Moravcik (Petrov, 66 mins); Sutton, Larsson.
Juventus (4-4-2): Carini; Birindelli, Ferrara, Iuliano, Paramatti; Zenoni, Tacchinardi, Nedved, Maresca; Amoruso (Pessotto, 67), Del Piero (Trezeguet, h-t).
Referee: G Vessiere (France).
Celtic 4-3 Juventus
BBC
Two spectacular strikes from Chris Sutton and a virtuoso performance from veteran Lubo Moravcik inspired Celtic to an heroic exit from the Champions League.
A superbly exciting victory over Italian giants Juventus was not enough to prevent the Scots missing out on qualification after their first venture in the competition's group stages.
But it will give manager Martin O'Neill even greater heart for the campaign to follow after their third place in Group E ensured Celtic a place in the Uefa Cup draw.
Juve took the lead through Alessandro del Piero before Joos Valgaeren and Sutton put Celtic ahead for the first time.
Substitute David Trezeguet equalised after the break then Henrik Larsson's penalty and a beautiful volley from Sutton put Celtic in the driving seat before the Frenchman pulled one back for the Italians.
O'Neill had gone for broke, answering Moravcik's heartfelt plea to be given his first Champions League start.
The strength of Stilian Petrov was sacrificed in midfield and the Bulgaria captain was on the bench.
Juve had already qualified and coach Marcello Lippi took the opportunity to rest several of his top names.
He was also forced to make a substitution before kick off when Edgar Davids pulled up injured during the warm-up and was replaced by Alessandro Tacchinardi.
Moravcik showed his potential threat by forcing goalkeeper Fabian Carini to turn a low, 20-yard drive round the post.
But it was Juve who took the lead after 19 minutes.
Del Piero sent a bending and dipping free kick into the far top corner of the net from 25 yards.
Moravcik missed a great chance after Sutton's pass left him one-on-one with Carini, but the Slovak made up for it when he delivered the cross for Celtic's 24th-minute equaliser.
Belgian international defender Valgaeren had drifted forward to power his header home from 12 yards.
Moravcik was again the provider as Larsson somehow managed to head wide from six yards.
Celtic eventually got the second when the ball thundered past Carini off the head of Sutton from Moravcik's corner on the stroke of half time.
Trezeguet came on for Del Piero for the second half and made an immediate impact.
He had already had one netbound effort ruled out for offside when he latched on to Nicola Amoruso's pass to drive the ball home from the edge of the box after 50 minutes.
Celtic fought back once more and Mark Iuliano was pulled up by referee Gilles Veissiere for manhandling Sutton at a corner.
Larsson sent Carini the wrong way from the resultant, 56th-minute spot kick.
Sutton drove home superbly from 16 yards eight minutes later after he connected with a deflected Moravcik free kick.
Trezeguet pounced on a deflection in the other box to force the ball home.
But Celtic were not to be denied the victory after the final 13 minutes, only for Porto's 1-0 victory over Rosenborg Trondheim to ensure the Portuguese side's qualification behind Juve.
Celtic: Douglas, Balde, Mjallby, Valgaeren, Agathe, Lennon, Lambert, Moravcik, Petta, Larsson, Sutton. Subs: Kharine, Sylla, McNamara, Thompson, Hartson, Tebily, Petrov.
Juventus: Carini, Iuliano, Ferrara, Zenoni, Paramatti, Birindelli, Nedved, Maresca, Davids, Del Piero, Amoruso. Subs: Buffon, Pessotto, Trezeguet, Tacchinardi, Frara, Piccolo, Luca Rondinella.
Referee: Giles Veissiere (France).
Celtic 'sick but proud'
BBC
Celtic were determined not to let their exit from the Champions League overshadow a superb, final 4-3 victory over Italian giants Juventus.
There were more "could-have-beens" after Rosenborg missed an injury-time chance that would have won them the draw needed to send the Scots through at the expense of Porto.
But the Portuguese side's 1-0 win consigned Celtic to third place in Group E and a place in the Uefa Cup.
Two-goal Celtic striker Chris Sutton said: "Everybody's sick really, but we can be proud of ourselves for the result we got, although at the end it wasn't enough.
"The last 15 or 16 months we've showed a lot of character when things haven't gone for us and we've done it again tonight.
"We weren't worried about events elsewhere tonight. All our efforts were in beating Juventus, which wasn't easy.
"I think we can look back and think we're a bit unlucky, but it's one of those things.
"We're still in the Uefa Cup and we've got a chance in that."
That last-minute penalty that secured a 3-2 win for Juventus over Celtic in the group's opening game had come back to haunt the Scots.
But Celtic manager Martin O'Neill said: "The only disappointment tonight was the Porto result.
"But that shouldn't spoil the performance from us.
"It was magnificent from start to finish.
"The players were absolutely outstanding.
"We've won all three home games in the competition at the first attempt and we've got nine points.
"Boavista went through in another group with eight points, but it wasn't to be for us, although it was a great attempt."
"Maybe we underestimated them a little." Pavel Nedvěd (From UEFA.com, who were marking this as a classic match, from 2012)
2001/02
• Real Madrid CF registered 35 goals during the campaign, equalling their own record for the winners set in 1999/2000. The goals were divided between 14 players, with Raúl González contributing six.
• Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Bayer 04 Leverkusen overturned one-goal first-leg deficits to prevail in the quarter-finals, with Madrid and Leverkusen hitting their winners in the final six minutes.
• FC Bayern München equalled AFC Ajax's record of 19 UEFA Champions League games unbeaten before Real Madrid ended the holders' run – and defence – in the quarter-final second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Halloween brought a seven-goal treat for a sell-out crowd in Glasgow, and the glory of a stirring UEFA Champions League victory against the Old Lady of Italian football – yet the night fate would ultimately play a cruel trick on the Scottish titleholders.
Martin O'Neill's side went into the game knowing that beating the section's runaway leaders represented their only chance of pipping FC Porto to runners-up spot in the first group stage. It did not begin well, with Alessandro Del Piero breaking the deadlock on 19 minutes, but Celtic hurried and harried, and two goals from Chris Sutton helped turn things around. The partisan crowd were in raptures; then news of Porto's win against Rosenborg BK filtered through.
The hosts deserved more, having taken the game to Juventus from the start, fuelled by the powerful running of Didier Agathe on the right and the creative probing of Lubomír Moravčík in the middle. The Slovakian international was twice denied by Fabián Carini, and his frustration was exacerbated when the visitors took the lead against the run of play. Del Piero, fouled 25 metres out, picked himself up to curl an immaculate free-kick into the top corner.
The stadium fell eerily silent, but not for long as five minutes later the home side were level, Joos Valgaeren diving to head in Moravčík's cross. Now Celtic were on in the ascendant, Agathe firing wide and Henrik Larsson misdirecting a header from close range. Larsson, on the stroke of half-time, then saw his elaborate back-heel turned wide, but from the resulting corner Sutton rose to head in Moravčík's corner.
Half-time substitute David Trezeguet restored parity but back came Celtic. Larsson converted from the spot after Mark Iuliano used foul means to keep Sutton in check, and the Englishman made it 4-2 with an unstoppable volley on 64 minutes following another Moravčík set piece.
Still Juventus would not lie down and Trezeguet reduced the arrears, reward for his determination after two ricochets fell favourably in his path. Thirteen anxious minutes ensued but Celtic held on – only to learn that Porto had beaten Rosenborg to clinch the runners-up spot. It was cruel luck on the Glasgow giants, who had to make do with a place in the UEFA Cup, not to mention the respect of their esteemed opponents.