Celtic took a shock lead against Barcelona and will be happy to be level at halftime at the Camp Nou, but they nearly made it to the break with a lead. While Celtic looked like they had what it took to hold onto the advantage going into the locker room, a great team goal by the Blaugrana has the score tied 1-1 at halftime.
Barcelona vs. Celtic, 2012 UEFA Champions League: Halftime score 1-1, Bhoys off to brilliant start
Alexis Sanchez should have put Barcelona up in the 2nd minute when Andres Iniesta played a perfect ball across for him to finish, but he missed an absolute sitter. Barcelona was made to pay for that 16 minutes later, when Charlie Mulgrew whipped in the free kick that created Celtic's goal. Giorgios Samaras got up to head the free kick and his header took a deflection off Javier Mascherano before going into the net. Unfortunately for Samaras, he picked up an ankle injury later in the half and was substituted off for James Forrest.
Barcelona's equalizer came in the 44th minute on a brilliant team move. Lionel Messi started it with a pass to Iniesta near the top of the box, and he laid off the ball for Xavi before darting into the penalty area. Xavi played a perfect return ball and Iniesta finished from close to level the match.
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