Neil Lennon gutted for 'brave' Celtic players as Barcelona pressure tells

Dejection for Celtic manager Neil Lennon as his side miss out on a point.SNS Group

Neil Lennon was disappointed his Celtic players’ efforts in Barcelona were in vain as they lost out to a late, late Jordi Alba winner.

The SPL champions took the lead against a side acclaimed as the best club team of current times, with Georgios Samaras’ header from a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick finding the net with help from Javier Mascherano.

A relentless Barcelona pulled level just before the half-time break and, having applied pressure for the overwhelming majority of the second half, took the tie with a goal with seconds left to spare.

Celtic stood tall against wave after wave of attack from the Catalans, closing down midfield space, dealing with cross balls and having goalkeeper Fraser Forster to thank on occasion.

"I'm bitterly disappointed for the players more than anybody else," Lennon told Sky Sports. "But I'm immensely proud of them as well.

"They were brave. They stuck to what we asked them to do. They didn't lose their composure when they knew we would be under pressure and knew we would give the ball away at certain times.

"We told them to accept that and they did. We conceded ground when we had to. But they defended brilliantly and at times on the counter attack, we looked dangerous.

"This is the best team in the world. To come here and play as well as that... it doesn't surprise me about these players. I know the quality and character of the team.

"Only Barcelona can score a goal the quality of the first one… the intricate passing and the pace of the play.

"We were trying to stop them playing through the middle. We forced them wide at every opportunity and dealt with the crosses.

"They were tiring towards the end, you could see that. It's physically and mentally very demanding. But I thought we did enough to see the game out."

Celtic’s hopes of relieving pressure and potentially taking another goal from the game were dealt a blow late in the first half, with target man Georgios Samaras forced off after landing awkwardly on his ankle.

Victor Wanyama went close with a header in the second period, with Samaras’ replacement James Forrest also occasionally threatening with direct runs.

"Losing Georgios [Samaras] was a blow at the time because he was causing Barcelona some problems," the manager added.

"We had a good chance from a header in the second half.

"You know when you come here it is going to be a concerted amount of pressure. We just needed to see it out."

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