Glasgow Celtic 1 - Barcelona 0

Celtic: Douglas; Balde, Varga, McNamara; Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Pearson, Thompson (Sylla 83'); Larsson, Beattie (Marshall 46'). 3-5-2.
Barcelona: Víctor Valdés; Gabri, Puyol, Oleguer, Reiziger (Gerard 64'); Xavi, Cocu, Motta; Luis García (Quaresma 72'), Saviola, Ronaldinho (Overmars 88'). 4-3-3.

Goals:
1-0. 59. Thompson. Volleyed in from right of goal after Larsson headed on cross.

Barcelona's run of nine wins in a row came to a sudden end when they lost 1-0 to Celtic in their first leg tie. The game was played in an atmosphere of sadness after the terrorist bombings in Madrid, and UEFA turned down requests from all four Spanish sides to postpone the fixtures until a later date. A minute's silence was observed before kick off though, and the Celtic fans brought tears to the eyes of the Spanish press and public signing an emotive "You'll never walk alone".

Unfortunately the sense of comradeship didn't extend into the ninety minutes, and the turning point in the match came around half time, when Douglas and Motta were both shown the red card as they fought in the tunnel leaving the pitch over a previous incident between Motta and Balde. It was the fourth red card for Motta this season, and the second in a just over a week. Four minutes after the restart the Catalans were left with nine men when Saviola was also sent off for a hard tackle on Thompson.

Ten minutes later Barça went behind when Larsson headed a cross from the right on to Thompson for him to volley past Valdés. After that Rijkaard decided that the one goal defeat was the best they could do, and he pushed Cocu back to join the back four and limit the damage. The manager will be looking to turn things around in the Nou Camp in two weeks' time, but against a side who have won all but one match in their domestic league and who have not been beaten at home now for 74 games, that will not be an easy task.