| Match Pictures | Matches: 2016 – 2017 | 2016-17 Pictures |
Trivia
- Champions League 2016-17, Match 2
- Celtic sit third in group with 1pt, Barca won 2-1 away v Borrussia M, so stay on top.
- Another special atmosphere praised to the rafters.
- Man City managed by Gardiola, ex-Barca manager. They are flying high in the EPL at moment. Top dogs there, and spending freely too. They’d won their last ten competitive top level games in a row, smashing Borussia M 4-0 in their last Champs Lge game.
- Celtic seem to have a new anthem tonight. Irish ballad ‘Grace‘ promoted by the Green Brigade has made it across the support
- Celtic first team to take points off Man City this season. They have beaten all, and won six out of six in their league, and defeated Man U at Old Trafford.
- Celtic, Parkhead & Tierney leading the sports news across Latin America, ahead of Barcelona, Atletico & Bayern on tonight.
- Celtic fined by UEFA for illicit banner in Hapoel game at Celtic Park, just £8500 (€10k). Nominal amount, Celtic fans raised €180k for Palestinian charities. Congratulations to all. Celtic fans have received a lot of support and praise from everywhere, and UEFA seem to have understood this.
- England’s football team manager, Sam Allardyce, sacked (left by mutual consent) after being caught in a media sting. Not a pleasant character, and few were bemoaning his loss.
- Ex-Celt assistant manager to John Barnes, Eric Black implicated in football scandal in a newspaper sting, apparently caught after allegedly offering advice to a third-party player ownership consortium on how to bribe lower league clubs. As Celtic were so poor back then, looks obviously he didn’t do anything of the sort whilst at Celtic. Comical!
- Post-Note:
“Which team do you love to play against?”
Ilkay Gündogan @IlkayGuendogan” I really loved the atmosphere against Celtic at Celtic Park in 2016 – that was amazing…” link
Review
BBC Radio 5 Live: “That was quite possibly the perfect game of football” #CelticvCity more than lived up to the billing:
Liam Gallagher @liamgallagher Sep 28 (Oasis group)
Stan Collymore (Journo, ex-player)
Brilliant Celtic fans, just brilliant! Best atmosphere in these islands by a million miles!
Tom English journalist (Twitter): The most fun you can have with your clothes on. Epic game at Celtic Park. Brendan Rodgers’ team classy and then incredibly gutsy. Superb
BRT from Twitter:
“For all of Man city ‘s and Barcelona’s wealth do you really deep down believe that are “richer”?
Adam Bailey for MCFC City Watch – says it all really.
“Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic and their barmy, amazing following, proof that in their giant green bouncy castle they can go toe to toe with anyone. Celtic Park bounced like an MDMA fueled underground warehouse on Wednesday evening. The noise inside the 60,000 capacity stadium was thunderous, deafening, frightening.”
KT on his goal last night: “I don’t think UEFA are giving me it but the Celtic fans are giving me it and I’m claiming it, put it that way.”
Twitter (TheCelticWiki): “I’m not saying Kolo Toure tidied up everything tonight but when you get home don’t be surprised to find him hoovering your carpet.”
(Joebloggscity of TheCelticWiki)
Let’s not kid on. After the humbling by Barca, this was expected to be another clear defeat. Man City are riding high in England andeasily defeated Borussia M in their first group match. Celtic were recovering but goalkeeper problems meant the previously indifferent Gordon was brought back in to the starting line-up.
Yet from the word go, Celtic were excellent. Early goal, and then light and shade as both sides played wonderful football with a cat & mouse scoreline. At the end it was a fair result.
Gordon saved some great attempts by Man City, Dembele scored a beezer, young Tierney dazzles beyond his years, Toure is the greatest player in the twilight of his years we’ve seen for many a year. Others are rejuvenated like Brown etc. It’s unbelievable.
Atmosphere was praised to the heaven, and Celtic made us smile and cry again.
Wonderful game, you won’t see a better match anywhere likely this season. This is what football is about
Its incredible that we are now seriously talking about 3rd in the group after what happened 2 weeks ago, but thats the joys of being a Celtic fan.
(Mubo L of KDS)
Still drained, what a effing game that was.
As someone earlier in the thread alluded to, it’s incredible to think our consecutive defeats to Molde were only 11 months ago. How time flies…
In terms of individuals… everyone did us proud, considering it’s impossible not to make some mistakes at that level. Dembele ( ), Toure ( ) and Brown ( ) were particularly outstanding. Tierney did as Tierney as does, god I love him. Forrest’s work rate was the best I’ve ever seen from him. Sinclair destroyed Zabaleta in the 1st half but was quieter after the break, as was Rogic. Lustig, Sviatchenko and Bitton were solid for the most part. While Gordon made some crucial stops and hopefully will keep the #1 jersey for the time being.
Rodgers… what can I say, he has been utterly brilliant since inheriting the low morale that the club was in. He has demonstrated real presence, tactical fluidity and yes he truly gets what Celtic is all about. I will concede that I was perplexed at him putting on Griffiths for a midfielder, but in contrast to Guardiola who actually make conservative substitutions, it showed some balls in the manner that Lennon did via Tony Watt replacing Lustig v Barca. Keep up the good work Brendan
Atmosphere wise, it was electric. It would have been perfect if we’d been in a more comfortable position to do the Huddle, but otherwise great job from the Green Brigade and the rest of the stadium. I loved the way the stadium was bouncing in the final minutes of the match, when it could have otherwise been silent and put our under-siege-players on edge.
If we can beat Gladbach at home, then it would put us in a very strong position for 3rd place. Even if we only beat them 2-1 and lose 3-0 in Germany – thereby losing the head to head – so long as they lost their final 2 games we’d secure Europa League football.
Sounds good to me, Hail Hail and I just can’t get enough
(Celtic J of KDS)
Magnificent game. Two great teams.
And, by the way, a great ref who decided not to get involved.
Technically, he should have booked Tierney and Fernandinho but his aim seemed to be to let the players get on with it.
The Green Brigade were great, the rest of the fans brilliant. It was just a special night.
In Brendan, we have a very special manager
Teams
Celtic
01 Gordon
23 Lustig
02 KTouré
28 Sviatchenko
63 Tierney
08 Brown
06 BittonSubstituted for Griffiths at 84’minutes
49 ForrestSubstituted for Roberts at 81’minutes
18 RogicSubstituted for Armstrong at 57’minutes
11 Sinclair
10 Dembele
Substitutes
05 Simunovic
09 Griffiths
12 Gamboa
14 Armstrong
24 de Vries
27 Roberts
42 McGregor
Goals
Dembele (3’minutes, 47’minutes),
Sterling (20’minutes og) [some attribute this to Tierney]
Man City
1Bravo
5Zabaleta
30Otamendi
11Kolarov
22ClichySubstituted forStonesat 73’minutes
25Fernandinho
7Sterling
8Gündogan
21Silva
9NolitoSubstituted forFernandoat 76’minutes
10Agüero
Substitutes
3Sagna
6Fernando
13Caballero
15Jesús Navas
19Sané
24Stones
72Iheanacho
Goals
Fernandinho (11’minutes),
Sterling (28’minutes),
Nolito (55’minutes)
Referee:Nicola Rizzoli
Attendance:57,592
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Forum
- Pre-match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11004044/
- Match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11004488/
- Post Match http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11004497/13/?x=50
MOTM
- Voting Thread http://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/topic/11004499/
- Result Thread
- Winner –
Stats
Celtic Man City
Possession
Home39%Away61%
Shots
Home9
Away24
Shots on Target
Home3
Away9
Corners
Home4
Away9
Fouls
Home8
Away8
Articles
Celtic 3 – 3 Manchester City: Champions League thriller at Parkhead
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/celtic-3-3-manchester-city-champions-league-thriller-at-parkhead-1-4243462
By
Stephen Halliday
Published: 21:39 Wednesday 28 September 2016
It will not be added to the ledger of famous European victories Celtic have enjoyed on their own patch but Brendan Rodgers’ side produced a result and performance which carried almost as much resonance as some of those glorious triumphs they have enjoyed down the years.
On a remarkable night which saw them harness a stunning atmosphere inside Celtic Park, the Scottish champions found significant atonement for their matchday one 7-0 defeat in Barcelona as they claimed their first point in Group C of the Champions League.
Click here for the latest results, fixtures and stats>>>
They did so by placing the first blemish of any sort on Pep Guardiola’s record as Manchester City boss, ending the English Premier League leaders’ 100 per cent winning run under their lauded coach.
Celtic led three times on the evening, through Moussa Dembele’s double and a Raheem Sterling own goal, only to be pegged back each time. But it was an evening which saw them reclaim pride and credibility at this level and prove they remain capable of more than just making up the numbers in Europe’s elite tournament.
Celtic could not have delivered more dramatically or impressively on Rodgers’ pre-match pledge they would not be as passive as they were in the Nou Camp 15 days earlier.
Nolito slots home to equalise for the third time. Picture: SNS
Nolito slots home to equalise for the third time. Picture: SNS
The intensity and ambition of their play was in the sharpest possible contrast to the almost meek and accepting manner in which they suffered that club record European defeat against the Spanish champions.
Any notion Manchester City held of being able to settle into the slick passing game which has characterised Guardiola’s outstanding start to his tenure was immediately dispelled as Celtic came flying out of the traps.
Their front foot approach brought its first reward with Dembele’s third minute opener which sent an already pumped up home support into an utter frenzy. The goal came from a brilliantly executed training ground set piece, the free-kick conceded by Nicolas Otamendi’s handball.
Scott Sinclair took it, picking out James Forrest’s clearly rehearsed run on the right of the City penalty area. The winger volleyed a first time cross into the six yard box where Erik Sviatchenko headed towards goal. Dembele, certainly flirting with an offside position but getting the benefit of the doubt from the linesman, applied the finishing touch from close range with his chest.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers (right) with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Picture: SNS
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers (right) with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. Picture: SNS
City were seriously rattled and struggled to find any composure as Celtic maintained a ferocious tempo. The home side threatened to double their lead when Dembele’s close range shot was turned behind by Claudio Bravo, then Tom Rogic was a shot blocked after he was set up by some exceptional work from Sinclair.
With Guardiola an animated presence on the edge of his technical area, City gradually forced themselves higher up the pitch and the first threat to Craig Gordon’s goal saw David Silva’s shot deflected wide for a corner in the 11th minute.
It was a set piece Celtic were unable to clear effectively and from the subsequent follow-up pressure, City grabbed their first equaliser. Aleksandar Kolarov’s shot was not cleanly struck but the ball broke kindly for the visitors, Fernandinho stepping onto it and guiding a precise low shot beyond Gordon’s left hand.
Celtic’s response was an unrelenting commitment to aggressive, high pressing tactics which quickly had City on the back foot once more. The English side’s reaction to being hassled so mercilessly out of their cultured stride was manifested in a rash moment from Sterling who was fortunate referee Nicola Rizzoli did not spot his juvenile off the ball kick at the calf of Celtic captain Scott Brown.
Sterling had further cause for frustration when Celtic went 2-1 ahead in the 20th minute. Rogic’s perfectly weighted pass found Kieran Tierney who had made a surging run down the left. The young full-back’s angled shot took a deflection off Sterling and beat Bravo at his near post.
But Celtic’s lead barely lasted any longer this time. City, now enjoying a greater share of possession and territorial progress, levelled again eight minutes later. It was a redemptive moment for Sterling who displayed great poise and precision to beat Gordon from around 14 yards, Silva having engineered the chance after nicking the ball off Brown.
Celtic came closest to scoring again before the interval, Mikael Lustig heading over from Rogic’s corner, and it said everything about the breathless nature of the first half that no stoppage time was added.
There was certainly no time to pause for reflection when play resumed as Celtic went ahead for the third time just 28 seconds after the restart. Tierney, looking very much at home at this level, foraged down the left again and when his cross was missed by Kolarov, the ball fell to Dembele who improvised brilliantly to hook a shot over his shoulder and high into the net.
City were back to square one again but were in no mood to let their unbeaten start to the season go lightly. Gordon made a smart save to deny Nolito who then saw another shot blocked by Lustig as City picked up the pace of their own attacking play.
Gordon was forced into a terrific save when he got down low to keep out Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick but could do little to prevent City’s third leveller of the evening. The ‘keeper did well to parry Sergio Aguero’s close range shot but the ball broke for Nolito to slide it into the unguarded net.
BBC
By Tom English
BBC Scotland at Celtic Park
28 September 2016
From the section Football
Moussa Dembele scores
Moussa Dembele scored two of Celtic’s goals
Celtic claimed their first Champions League Group C point as Pep Guardiola’s perfect record in charge of Manchester City was ended with a draw in Glasgow.
The hosts led twice in the first half, Moussa Dembele diverting in Erik Sviatchenko’s header and Kieran Tierney forcing an own goal by Raheem Sterling.
Fernandinho’s strike brought City level first time and Sterling showed composure to net the visitors’ second.
Nolito equalised for the visitors again after Dembele had netted on the turn.
Pep Guardiola and Brendan Rodgers
Guardiola (left) watched his side fail to win for the first time this season against Rodgers’ Celtic
Barcelona’s win over Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany keeps the Spaniards top of the group with City two points behind in second. The top two meet in Barcelona on 19 October.
Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic hold a one-point advantage over bottom side Gladbach going into their meeting in Glasgow.
The electricity was crackling around Celtic Park even before a ball had been kicked, the home crowd unleashing noise and colour and every ounce of passion in their bodies on the visitors. All of that emotion came thundering in again when Dembele stunned City.
Scott Sinclair’s free-kick, James Forrest’s first-time cross, Sviatchenko’s diving header and in off Dembele – already a Celtic cult hero at the tender age of 20. In attack, and defence, Dembele was terrific.
In those opening minutes City looked like a team that were not ready for Celtic’s intensity. They looked a bit shocked to be involved in a fight. Class will out, though. Fernandinho equalised after latching on to Aleksandar Kolarov’s shot and the epic was truly up and running.
Manchester City celebrate
Fernandinho (left) scored one and threatened again in the second half
Celtic retook the lead with a counter-attack of such quality that it could have carried the Guardiola trademark. Nir Bitton and Tom Rogic did wonderfully to launch it, the Australian setting Tierney free down the left.
The teenager, as beloved a full-back as any in these parts since Danny McGrain was tearing it up, cut in, shot and saw his attempt deflected in off Sterling’s boot. Cue more pandemonium.
Cue City’s brilliance too. Brown was too easily dispossessed and City sliced through, David Silva playing a sumptuous pass to the magnificent Sterling, who finished with all the class of a player reborn under his new manager.
Raheem Sterling scores
Sterling finished well minutes after being credited with an own goal
City’s defensive malaise carried on at the start of the second half. Kolarov, playing fitfully at centre-half, was desperately poor in the build-up to Celtic’s third. When Tierney put in a cross, City’s rearguard was in a comatose state. Dembele had time to take it down and hook it behind him and beyond Claudio Bravo.
This was brilliantly bonkers and the atmosphere intensified when Sergio Aguero forced a fine save from Craig Gordon only for the impressive Nolito to put away the loose ball.
City took control, pinning a tiring Celtic back and threatening to sicken them with a winner. Fernandinho launched a rocket that flew just over. Gundogan’s shot hit off Sviatchenko and Gordon and went out. City pressed and pressed.
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A noise I’ve never heard before – Rodgers
The heart from the home team was immense. Some of them were out on their feet before the end, but they dug in, throwing themselves in front of shots and crosses, surviving. They deserved to. City could hardly disagree that the underdogs merited their point.
Immense stuff in Glasgow’s east end.
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Guardiola ‘satisfied’ with City draw
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola: “It was maybe a good lesson for us, how important it is to start well. It is not easy to recover one goal, imagine two, imagine three.
“It was mentally a shock at the start of each half, to concede a goal after two minutes. In the second half, aside from the first five or 10 minutes we played well, we created chances.
“They scored three and but didn’t make many more chances, we created enough chances to win the game.”
Posted at
Match ends, Celtic 3, Manchester City 3.
Full Time
Posted at
90’+5′
Second Half ends, Celtic 3, Manchester City 3.
Posted at
90’+4′
Attempt missed. Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is just a bit too high following a corner.
Posted at
90’+3′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Kolo Touré.
Posted at
90’+1′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Craig Gordon.
Posted at
90’+1′
Attempt saved. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.
Posted at
89′
Attempt blocked. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
Posted at
88′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Erik Sviatchenko.
Posted at
87′
Offside, Celtic. Kolo Touré tries a through ball, but Leigh Griffiths is caught offside.
Substitution
Posted at
84′
Substitution, Celtic. Leigh Griffiths replaces Nir Bitton.
Posted at
83′
Attempt missed. Fernandinho (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.
Substitution
Posted at
81′
Substitution, Celtic. Patrick Roberts replaces James Forrest.
Posted at
78′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Mikael Lustig.
Substitution
Posted at
76′
Substitution, Manchester City. Fernando replaces Nolito.
Substitution
Posted at
73′
Substitution, Manchester City. John Stones replaces Gaël Clichy.
Posted at
73′
Foul by David Silva (Manchester City).
Posted at
73′
Nir Bitton (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at
72′
Gaël Clichy (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at
72′
Foul by James Forrest (Celtic).
Posted at
71′
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Posted at
71′
Foul by Scott Brown (Celtic).
Posted at
68′
Offside, Celtic. Stuart Armstrong tries a through ball, but Scott Sinclair is caught offside.
Posted at
63′
Attempt blocked. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) header from the right side of the six yard box is blocked. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan with a cross.
Posted at
63′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Erik Sviatchenko.
Posted at
63′
Attempt blocked. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by David Silva with a cross.
Posted at
61′
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Posted at
61′
Foul by Kieran Tierney (Celtic).
Substitution
Posted at
57′
Substitution, Celtic. Stuart Armstrong replaces Tomas Rogic.
Goal!
Posted at
55′
Goal! Celtic 3, Manchester City 3. Nolito (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.
Posted at
55′
Attempt saved. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by David Silva with a through ball.
Posted at
54′
Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at
54′
Foul by Moussa Dembele (Celtic).
Posted at
52′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Craig Gordon.
Posted at
52′
Attempt saved. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Posted at
51′
David Silva (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at
51′
Foul by Nir Bitton (Celtic).
Posted at
51′
Attempt blocked. Nolito (Manchester City) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Raheem Sterling with a cross.
Posted at
50′
Attempt saved. Nolito (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan.
Goal!
Posted at
47′
Goal! Celtic 3, Manchester City 2. Moussa Dembele (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner.
Second Half
Posted at
Second Half begins Celtic 2, Manchester City 2.
Half Time
Posted at
45’+1′
First Half ends, Celtic 2, Manchester City 2.
Posted at
44′
Attempt missed. Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by Raheem Sterling.
Posted at
40′
Attempt missed. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by David Silva.
Posted at
36′
Attempt missed. Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City) left footed shot from the right side of the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by David Silva.
Posted at
35′
Attempt missed. Mikael Lustig (Celtic) header from a difficult angle on the left is just a bit too high. Assisted by Tomas Rogic with a cross following a corner.
Posted at
34′
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Gaël Clichy.
Posted at
33′
Foul by Fernandinho (Manchester City).
Posted at
33′
Tomas Rogic (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at
32′
Fernandinho (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at
32′
Foul by Tomas Rogic (Celtic).
Posted at
31′
Attempt missed. Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Raheem Sterling following a corner.
Posted at
31′
Attempt missed. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the right following a corner.
Posted at
31′
Attempt missed. Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City) header from the centre of the box misses to the left. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan with a cross following a corner.
Posted at
31′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Kieran Tierney.
Goal!
Posted at
28′
Goal! Celtic 2, Manchester City 2. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by David Silva with a through ball.
Posted at
27′
Attempt missed. Sergio Agüero (Manchester City) header from the right side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left following a corner.
Posted at
27′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Mikael Lustig.
Posted at
25′
Hand ball by Sergio Agüero (Manchester City).
Posted at
24′
Fernandinho (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at
24′
Foul by Nir Bitton (Celtic).
Posted at
23′
Attempt saved. Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City) right footed shot from more than 35 yards is saved in the centre of the goal.
Goal!
Posted at
20′
Own Goal by Raheem Sterling, Manchester City. Celtic 2, Manchester City 1.
Posted at
18′
Attempt saved. Nolito (Manchester City) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by David Silva.
Posted at
17′
Tomas Rogic (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Posted at
17′
Foul by Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City).
Posted at
15′
Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Posted at
15′
Foul by Tomas Rogic (Celtic).
Posted at
14′
Attempt missed. Tomas Rogic (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left from a direct free kick.
Posted at
13′
Foul by Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City).
Posted at
13′
Scott Sinclair (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Goal!
Posted at
11′
Goal! Celtic 1, Manchester City 1. Fernandinho (Manchester City) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Aleksandar Kolarov following a corner.
Posted at
11′
Attempt missed. Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) left footed shot from outside the box misses to the right. Assisted by Ilkay Gündogan following a corner.
Posted at
11′
Attempt blocked. David Silva (Manchester City) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is blocked. Assisted by Raheem Sterling with a cross.
Posted at
11′
Corner, Manchester City. Conceded by Erik Sviatchenko.
Posted at
9′
Attempt blocked. Tomas Rogic (Celtic) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Scott Sinclair with a cross.
Posted at
8′
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Pablo Zabaleta.
Posted at
8′
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by David Silva.
Posted at
8′
Attempt blocked. Tomas Rogic (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Posted at
8′
Attempt blocked. Scott Sinclair (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Posted at
7′
Moussa Dembele (Celtic) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Posted at
7′
Foul by Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City).
Posted at
6′
Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Claudio Bravo.
Posted at
6′
Attempt saved. Kolo Touré (Celtic) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Posted at
5′
Scott Brown (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Posted at
5′
Foul by Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City).
Goal!
Posted at
3′
Goal! Celtic 1, Manchester City 0. Moussa Dembele (Celtic) with an attempt from very close range to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Nir Bitton following a set piece situation.
Posted at
3′
Attempt missed. Nir Bitton (Celtic) header from very close range is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by James Forrest following a set piece situation.
Posted at
2′
Hand ball by Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City).
Kick Off
Posted at
First Half begins.
Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
Guardiola’s winning run ended by daring Celtic
Times Newspaper
It was going to take something special to halt Manchester City’s magnificent winning start to the season and Celtic conjured something very special on a memorable, deafening evening in the East End of Glasgow.
City ran into a wall of sound, and wall of bodies, and were grateful to the brilliance of Raheem Sterling in coming away with a point. Celtic were superb, giving everything, taking their chances, and harrying Pep Guardiola’s vaunted side. Brendan Rodgers had done his homework, instructing his players when “to go over the top of the press” beloved by City with quick, long diagonals.
“There were many examples of our counter-pressing when we lost the ball,” the Celtic manager said. “We forced them to kick long, we forced them to kick the ball out.” For periods, Celtic rattled City. Aleksandar Kolarov may have sleepless nights because of Moussa Dembélé.
In keeping with the club’s finest attacking traditions, Celtic started at full pelt and ended with a frontline of the outstanding Dembélé and Leigh Griffiths ably assisted by Scott Sinclair and Patrick Roberts. Rodgers went for it with his substitutes, such as Griffiths and Roberts; there was no shutting up shop, Celtic chased victory until the very end.
Celtic were bold against the Premier League pacesetters, going toe-to-toe with heavyweights who had won their previous ten games. Even when they looked like tiring, Kolo Touré rallied them, making some vital clearances. Even when their spirits could have dipped as City kept fighting back, Celtic’s fans drove their team on. Players and supporters were in total harmony, united in the mission of taking a point or preferably three off City; they got one, yet it felt more because of the scale of their performance and the stellar identity of the opposition.
City had needed all their resolve. Guardiola fielded plenty of experienced players, all-conquering down south at the start of the season, but this is Glasgow, this is Celtic’s domain. City walked into an ambush. Celtic were resplendent in their famous green and white while City appeared dressed as tequila sunrise cocktails with extra grenadine splashed on their shorts.
Rodgers was in a tracksuit, leaping around in the dugout, urging his players upfield. Guardiola was in his neat, tight suit, his body language betraying his vexed nature of some of City mistakes. Fernandinho, trying to anchor midfield, laboured at times. Kolarov struggled against the tall, muscular Dembélé.
Dembélé opened the scoring of a confrontation that turned into an epic. Rodgers deserves credit for the third-minute goal, a classic training-ground routine. Scott Sinclair dummied to take a free kick, enticing City out, and then made contact, lifting the ball in to meet the well-timed run of James Forrest. The winger immediately transferred the ball across, a diving Erik Sviatchenko made contact and his header took the ball on to Dembélé’s chest and in past Claudio Bravo: 1-0.
City’s goalmouth was under siege. Bravo saved from Touré. Tom Rogic’s piledriver whistled wide. City drew a deep breath and hit back, building their moves, signalling their intentions with their hands as no word could be heard in this den of din. David Silva darted through but there was Sviatchenko intervening.
City equalised after 12 minutes when Kolarov’s mis-hit strike fell to Fernandinho, whose own shot was not a work of great beauty but still sped past Craig Gordon: 1-1.
Back came Celtic, reclaiming the lead within eight minutes. Rogic’s passing had been troubling City and now he found the flying Kieran Tierney, who was having quite a duel with Sterling. The England winger tracked back, and tried to intercept but succeeded only in diverting Tierney’s shot past Bravo. Uefa quickly announced it as a Sterling own goal: 2-1.
Sterling rose to the challenge, to the occasion. Collecting a pass from the ubiquitous Silva, Sterling showed all his self-belief that he has reacquired under Guardiola. Gone was the hesitant creature in an England shirt of the summer. Here he was composure personified, checking his stride, and sending Tierney the wrong way and committing Gordon before stroking the ball in: 2-2.
City fans were briefly heard amid the frenzied Celtic backing. The script now appeared to be written by City; surely they would take control. Yet it was Celtic who came flying out for the second half, racing back into the lead two minutes after the restart. Kolarov, enduring a chastening evening, failed to deal with a Tierney cross. Dembélé’s response was magnificent, raising the decibel level even higher by controlling the ball and then hooking it right-footed past Bravo: 3-2.
It was a fabulous piece of skill, an exercise in concentration as well as technique, and a lesson to all aspiring strikers as Dembélé never took his eyes off the ball. If that was a fine individual goal, then a splendid team effort was next to grace this grand occasion. Silva threaded the ball through for Sergio Agüero, whose shot was well saved by Gordon. The ball fell out to Nolito, whose finish flew into the net: 3-3.
Surely now the green-and-white storm would abate? Surely Rodgers’s players would tire? How could they maintain such a tempo, even when fuelled by the belief voiced so raucously by their supporters? Their pressing was less prevalent, but still they fought. Scott Brown led the resistance in midfield. Sinclair, facing his old team, made some strong runs. Stuart Armstrong arrived in midfield after 57 minutes for Rogic.
City couldn’t settle. Guardiola acted to refresh his defence, sending on John Stones to help Nicolas Otamendi against Dembélé, pushing Kolarov left and removing Gaël Clichy. Guardiola then withdrew Nolito and introduced Fernando into deep midfield, protecting the back four, trying to squeeze the space around Dembélé. Fernandinho pushed on, moving closer to Agüero while Silva drifted left.
Rodgers went for it. With ten minutes left, he brought on Roberts, on loan from City. He was applauded by City fans as well as Celtic supporters, who also loudly saluted the departing Forrest, whose shirt was drenched with rain and sweat. Forrest had been tireless down the right, but now had to deal with Kolarov, attacking from full back.
City remained a threat on the break. Sterling dribbled through, laying the ball off to Fernandinho, whose shot took off but slipped just over. Rodgers twisted again, playing his last ace, sending on Griffiths for Nir Bitton. Still Sterling was City’s shining light, a beacon of hope in the final third but Celtic deservedly held on.
City might be one of the richest clubs in the world but they will never have what Celtic have – Fans
http://www.intallaght.ie/city-might-be-one-of-the-richest-clubs-in-the-world-but-they-will-never-have-what-celtic-have-fans/
It was a goal thriller at Celtic Park last night. Before kick off if you had said to many there would be six goals in this fixture I’m sure we can all agree that a draw wouldn’t be the option you’d have gone for.
Celtic have really come together as a side this season under new manager Brendan Rodgers and last night proved just that. They kicked off their Champions League campaign to Barcelona, a game many didn’t expect to see Celtic get much from but the result really wasn’t one fans will want us to remind them of. An absolute thrashing of Rangers a few days earlier had the fans ready to kick off this group in style.
It wasn’t to be so as you can imagine having to play Manchester City soon after wasn’t ideal, but then again this is Celtic. Every player that has had the chance to play at Celtic Park has been taken back by the atmosphere. As a fan it is something you will never be able to explain to anybody until you experience it for yourself.
Traveling to many stadiums over the years you would be a fool to say anywhere else in the world compares. It’s an advantage Celtic have over any side that turns up on the night, even sitting at home you can get a feel for just how special Champions league nights are there.
City who are in fine form this season and also under new manager Pep Guardiola came to Celtic Park I’m sure expecting a decent game not as easy as Barcelona had it a few weeks earlier but still one I’m sure they all (City fans included) expected to walk away with three points.
From the kick off Celtic looked as though they were well up for this fixture and not one bit put off by the pricey 11 surrounding them. With Celtic dominating possession early on it was no surprise to see them win a free kick, 35 yards from goal surely nothing was to come of it?
Bang on the 3rd minute Celtic were one up. A well worked free kick with a final touch from Moussa Dembele. Celtic Park went wild the stadium was literally shaking. Was this to be Celtic’s night? Celtic were all over City even after the goal. Although I worried, Celtic scoring early on can at times be the worst thing to happen. They have history of sitting back, after three minutes on the clock it would be a long night if that was the case.
City as you can imagine stunned by the side they were up against began to regain a bit more possession. They levelled up the game on the 12th minute. Kolarov took aim at the goal from 25 yards. His shot blocked away but it was collected by Fernandinho, who rolled it past Craig Gordon.
What a game we had on our hands. Typically over the years watching Celtic I expected this to be the start of the end. City were just too good when they got on the ball, but Celtic under Rodgers are a different side and yet again from the kick off were straight back up the pitch.
With less than seven minutes to settle ourselves Rogic took a charge through the middle, it would seem City’s midfield had taken a tea break as Rogic passed the ball through to Tierney. With almost a blink of an eye Celtic were again in front on the 20th minute. Ok the ball took a deflection off Raheem Sterling but it was all Tierney’s handy work.
This was without doubt one of the best games of football I’ve seen in a long time. I say that as Celtic cruised in front of City. Celtic continued with possession but City certainly looked like they had another goal in them.
This time they got lucky, a poor pass from Dembele to Brown saw City march on. David Silva had the space required to thread a pass through to Sterling, who finished well. Ok it was a great goal but was avoidable.
Four goals within the first half and they weren’t all for City, I was happy with that as the referee blew it up. Everyone was talking about this game on social media as those who had written Celtic off logged off for the night.
With the second half underway I didn’t know what to expect. Nervous yet excited at the way in which both sides had played this is real football on display. Surprise surprise and I mean that literally Celtic went in front again.
Two minutes into the second half and Tierney crosses the ball. Kolarov takes his eye off the ball making a mess of his clearance and Dembele pulls off one of the most beautiful finishes I’ve seen in a long time. An over the head kick that lands right in the back of the net. Is this a dream? No its very much reality Celtic are just brilliant.
The dream didn’t last too long as City yet again pressed up the pitch with Aguero playing a decent one-two with Silva and he’s in on goal. Gordon saves the initial shot but Nolito is then presented with a simple tap in from the rebound. It’s all level again on the 55th minute.
The game was pretty evenly matched but as a Celtic supporter I would be lying if I didn’t say the last 10 minutes didn’t give me the fear of life. Losing this game after this performance would be heartbreaking. A corner in the last minute for City was cleared and the final whistle went. Celtic had achieved what some would say was the impossible.
Celtic were outstanding, for me the only disappointment was that they allowed Manchester City back into the game so quickly after taking the lead. The fans yet again a vital factor to the result, paradise as they say the important 12th man on the night.
With Celtic claiming their first point in Group C and spoiling Pep Guardiola’s perfect record in charge of Manchester City it was a great night all round. Celtic who were written off by just about every pundit proved how important it is to have that support at home.
City may be one of the richest clubs in the world that boasts some of the biggest names in the game too but they lack one vital ingredient on the nights like last night, fans.