Post by Admin on Mar 7, 2013 12:14:51 GMT
DESPITE a spirited display in Turin, Celtic went down 2-0 to Juventus, and bowed out of the UEFA Champions League knockout stages 5-0 on aggregate.
The Hoops put in a performance they can be proud of, but they were unable to turn around the first-leg deficit. A first half goal from Alessandro Matri opened the scoring before Fabio Quagliarella killed the contest shortly after the hour mark.
Neil Lennon has made four changes to the side which beat St Mirren at the weekend, with Saturday´s substitutes Georgios Samaras, Beram Kayal and Kris Commons coming back into the starting XI. Charlie Mulgrew also returned after recovering from injury.
And Celtic started the match confidently. They made sure most of the first 45 minutes were played inside Juventus´ half and did well to put the Italian champions under constant pressure.
Kayal started strongly but it was his midfield partner Joe Ledley who created one of Celtic´s best moves in the opening period. The Welshman found Commons on the edge of the box but he wasn’t allowed space to pull the trigger.
And it was the lack of space inside the final third which prevented Celtic from taking an early lead. Juventus did well to close the Hoops down forcing them to shoot from distance. Ledley did just that on 22 minutes but his effort went fizzing past the post.
Despite the good start to proceedings, Celtic were punished for slack play shortly before the half hour mark. A mistake by Gary Hooper allowed the home side to make a rare break on goal. Fraser Forster couldn’t hold Quagliarella´s effort and the scorer of Juventus´ first goal at Celtic Park, Matri struck home on the rebound.
The goal took the sting out of Celtic but they refused to let their heads drop and continued to fight for the equaliser.
Commons had a wonderful opportunity to draw the sides level almost immediately, but his shot deflected off Hooper and Gianluigi Buffon produced an outstanding stop to push it wide for a corner.
And the Hoops came close again on 35 minutes, this time thanks to good work by Samaras down the left. He reached the byline and played the ball across goal for Hooper but the striker couldn´t make contact in time to fire it into the open net.
More excellent passing movement by Celtic brought them close again on 42 minutes. Emilio Izaguirre crossed the ball in for Kayal but Buffon collected the Israeli´s header and remarkably the Hoops went into the break without finding an equaliser.
There was a change at half time with Efe Ambrose replacing Victor Wanyama and he went in at right back, allowing Mulgrew to fall back into central defence. And six minutes later they were forced to make another switch, this time introducing James Forrest for the injured Adam Matthews.
Shortly before that second substitution Juventus came close to doubling their advantage. Forster pulled off an excellent save to turn Quagliarella´s 18-yard effort wide of target.
And on 55 minutes Celtic were defending again, this time through Kelvin Wilson who made two crucial interceptions inside the box to deny Matri. This was then followed up by a headed clearance from Andrea Pirlo´s cross on the right flank.
The Hoops´ lack of attacking prowess in the second half was punished on the 67th minute when Juventus doubled their advantage. Arturo Vidal´s cutback was turned in by Quagliarella, who beat the offside trap to score his fourth goal of the tournament.
Celtic were 5-0 down on aggregate but they continued to play probing football deep into Juventus´ half. Ledley flicked the ball into the path of Samaras on 83 minutes, but the Greek struck his 18-yard effort over the bar.
Kayal had a long range shot blocked by Buffon inside injury time but it was the last chance on target for Celtic. They bowed out of the competition on the final whistle, closing the curtain on a wonderful campaign.
The Hoops put in a performance they can be proud of, but they were unable to turn around the first-leg deficit. A first half goal from Alessandro Matri opened the scoring before Fabio Quagliarella killed the contest shortly after the hour mark.
Neil Lennon has made four changes to the side which beat St Mirren at the weekend, with Saturday´s substitutes Georgios Samaras, Beram Kayal and Kris Commons coming back into the starting XI. Charlie Mulgrew also returned after recovering from injury.
And Celtic started the match confidently. They made sure most of the first 45 minutes were played inside Juventus´ half and did well to put the Italian champions under constant pressure.
Kayal started strongly but it was his midfield partner Joe Ledley who created one of Celtic´s best moves in the opening period. The Welshman found Commons on the edge of the box but he wasn’t allowed space to pull the trigger.
And it was the lack of space inside the final third which prevented Celtic from taking an early lead. Juventus did well to close the Hoops down forcing them to shoot from distance. Ledley did just that on 22 minutes but his effort went fizzing past the post.
Despite the good start to proceedings, Celtic were punished for slack play shortly before the half hour mark. A mistake by Gary Hooper allowed the home side to make a rare break on goal. Fraser Forster couldn’t hold Quagliarella´s effort and the scorer of Juventus´ first goal at Celtic Park, Matri struck home on the rebound.
The goal took the sting out of Celtic but they refused to let their heads drop and continued to fight for the equaliser.
Commons had a wonderful opportunity to draw the sides level almost immediately, but his shot deflected off Hooper and Gianluigi Buffon produced an outstanding stop to push it wide for a corner.
And the Hoops came close again on 35 minutes, this time thanks to good work by Samaras down the left. He reached the byline and played the ball across goal for Hooper but the striker couldn´t make contact in time to fire it into the open net.
More excellent passing movement by Celtic brought them close again on 42 minutes. Emilio Izaguirre crossed the ball in for Kayal but Buffon collected the Israeli´s header and remarkably the Hoops went into the break without finding an equaliser.
There was a change at half time with Efe Ambrose replacing Victor Wanyama and he went in at right back, allowing Mulgrew to fall back into central defence. And six minutes later they were forced to make another switch, this time introducing James Forrest for the injured Adam Matthews.
Shortly before that second substitution Juventus came close to doubling their advantage. Forster pulled off an excellent save to turn Quagliarella´s 18-yard effort wide of target.
And on 55 minutes Celtic were defending again, this time through Kelvin Wilson who made two crucial interceptions inside the box to deny Matri. This was then followed up by a headed clearance from Andrea Pirlo´s cross on the right flank.
The Hoops´ lack of attacking prowess in the second half was punished on the 67th minute when Juventus doubled their advantage. Arturo Vidal´s cutback was turned in by Quagliarella, who beat the offside trap to score his fourth goal of the tournament.
Celtic were 5-0 down on aggregate but they continued to play probing football deep into Juventus´ half. Ledley flicked the ball into the path of Samaras on 83 minutes, but the Greek struck his 18-yard effort over the bar.
Kayal had a long range shot blocked by Buffon inside injury time but it was the last chance on target for Celtic. They bowed out of the competition on the final whistle, closing the curtain on a wonderful campaign.