EVEN Harry Potter must have sat spellbound.
Hogwarts hasn’t seen a wand as good as Leo Messi’s left foot.
Keep up to date with ALL the Barcelona news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
Actor Daniel Radcliffe was in the stand just like everyone else at Parkhead, wide-eyed and in awe of football’s little wizard.
Messi really was truly magical.
He scored twice with a couple of swishes of his boot in front of goal, a first-half strike and a second half penalty.
But it was his overall performance that had the home fans here asking if he was for real.
As it turned out this was a night when reality hit home for Brendan Rodgers.
He really couldn’t have asked for any more from his team as they gave everything they had against arguably the best team on the planet.
It just wasn’t enough with the defeat seeing Celtic knocked out of Europe before their final group game against Manchester City next month.
There is no shame in that.
Celtic ultimately lost this game, sure they did, and they can have few complaints, but they more than competed this time.
The way Scott Brown clattered through Sergio Busquets inside the first five minutes told Barcelona they weren’t going get things as easy as they had it in the Nou Camp back in September when they cantered to a 7-0 win.
The same when Messi was left rubbing his ankle as he winced in pain a few moments later after the Parkhead skipper caught him.
There was physical contact on both occasions, Broony very deliberately making his presence felt.
But equally there was absolutely nothing wrong with the two challenges with Italian referee Daniele Orsato quite rightly dismissing the groans and moans of the two superstars.
It was so refreshing to see a European official see the tackles for what they were – hard but fair.
Stuart Armstrong, though, counted himself lucky that he be escaped a yellow card just before the 20- minute mark.
When Neymar skipped past him with ease on the touchline in front of the away dug-out, Armstrong tried to trip him up and bring him down.
He was maybe only saved from a booking because the Brazilian winger stayed on his feet as he darted away.
The whistler ended up booking Erik Sviatchenko Jordi Alba before the half-time break and neither man could have any real complaints.
Just like Celtic couldn’t really whinge about being 1-0 after 45 minutes.
For all Rodgers’ side were night and day from how they played in Catalonia, Barca were still absolutely brilliant.
Messi’s goal after 24 minutes would have been a joy to watch for the 60,000 crowd had it not been so gut-wrenching.
The way Neymar lifted the ball into the little No10’s path was sublime.
Then the way the Argentine genius took the ball on the drop, smashing it past Craig Gordon before he even knew it, simply sensational.
It was the type of goal we just don’t see scored in the Scottish Premiership.
Messi needed almost no back-lift as he caught the ball sweetly, no real power, with his technique all he needed to hit the back of the net.
Celtic did all they could to stay in the game and they did. Just.
Before the break Luis Suarez looked certain to score after Messi dropped his shoulder and skinned Emilio Izaguirre, then clipping a cross into the box from the right.
But his downward header was saved brilliantly by Gordon as he scrambled across his line to throw himself at the ball.
Rodgers was forced into a change before the start of the second half with Scott Sinclair seemingly injuring his hamstring in the incident which saw Alba booked.
The issue saw James Forrest thrown on as Celtic’s first substitute.
For a five minute spell Rodgers’ side showed real promise as they pushed forward in search of an equaliser.
Truth be told, Moussa Dembele really should have scored.
Forrest picked him out inside the box with a clipped cross from the left which caught the Barca defence flat-footed.
Dembele had time to steady himself and plant a header either side of keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
But as the home fans sat up from their seats in real expectation, the young striker aimed the ball big German.
As chances go against Barcelona, it was a huge one.
One made even bigger when the La Liga side made it 2-0 seconds later with 56 minutes on the scoreboard clock.
Celtic fans reacted furiously when the referee pointed to the spot to award a penalty.
They booed and jeered the decision, convinced that Suarez dived when Izaguirre challenged him inside the box.
But Suarez only did what good strikers do when defenders get caught on the wrong side of them.
Izaguirre got too tight to his man as he grappled with him and was asking for trouble.
Suddenly Celtic’s task was insurmountable, Barca’s 2-0 lead one they were never going to recover from.
The crowd did all they could to inspire something special.
A bust-up between Mikael Lustig and Neymar also lifted the decibel levels before the Brazilian was subbed after 78 minutes.
Neymar couldn’t have walked any slower from the farside of the pitch to the dugout when his number went up.
It saw him given dog’s abuse but he couldn’t have cared less as he high-fived coach Luis Enrique before sitting down.
He knew the hard work was done and the win guaranteed. You didn't need to be a wizard to know that.
Leave a comment