A truly Herculean effort by Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster nearly snatched a famous and important point for the Bhoys at Camp Nou, but Barcelona found a heartbreaking late winner in true Barcelona fashion, netting in the 94th minute to grab a 2-1 win.
Barcelona vs. Celtic, 2012 UEFA Champions League: Final score 2-1, Fraser Forster’s heroics go unrewarded
Poor Celtic. They did brilliantly to take a lead and hold onto a draw until the 94th minute, when Barcelona scored their patented stoppage time winner.
Jordi Alba was the man who scored the winner, taking three points for Barcelona. Unfortunately, Forster's spectacular performance will go unrewarded in the standings.
Barcelona had a chance to take a very early lead when Andres Iniesta set up Alexis Sanchez in the 2nd minute, but Sanchez missed an absolute sitter right in front of goal. Celtic capitalized on Barcelona's inability to score early, netting a goal of their own in the 18th minute on a free kick. Charlie Mulgrew provided the delivery for Giorgios Samaras, who nodded the ball off the shoulder of Javier Mascherano to force an own goal.
Samaras had to leave the match just before halftime with an injury, and was replaced by James Forrest. His injury wasn’t the only problem Celtic had in the final minutes of the first half, sadly for them. They also conceded an equalizer on a brilliant team move by Barcelona, capped off by an Iniesta close-range finish.
Barca pushed for a goal throughout the second half and had more than 80 percent of the possession, but they were denied time and again by Forster, who had eight saves on the night. His biggest came in the 67th minute, when he improbably denied Lionel Messi from point-blank range.
David Villa struck the post when he had the net at his mercy in the 90th minute, and it felt like it might actually not be Barcelona's day this time around. That proved to not be the case, as Celtic suffered the same fate as Granada, Sevilla, Osasuna and Spartak Moscow before them. In the 94th minute, Adriano hit a cross to the back post and Jordi Alba timed his run perfectly to get on the end of it and score the winner.
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