Celtic 3 Inter Milan 3
Celtic will encounter mixed emotions when the dust eventually settles on a match which will live long in the memory. So much for the Europa League being the poor relation of continental football battle.
Ronny Deila's men will take heart from their fightback in this tie from an apparently unassailable position of two behind to Internazionale after just 13 first-leg minutes. Celtic played their part in an enthralling, breathless spectacle.
By virtue of away goals, the blunt reality remains that it is Roberto Mancini and his players who are in pole position to progress to the last 16. For the first time this season, Celtic's generous defending was not masked by wonderful goalkeeping; hence advantage Inter.
Still, Celtic were entitled to celebrate and injury-time equaliser from John Guidetti. They will travel to Milan with considerable hope.
Celtic’s challenge was obvious. The leap between domestic contests against the likes of St Johnstone to performing against a Serie A side, whatever the supposed decline in Italian standards, could never be a straightforward one. What the hosts had in their favour was confidence, as endorsed by a seven-game winning run in the Scottish top flight.
Internazionale lie a disappointing 10th in their own league but this remains a club with resource to dwarf that of Celtic’s. Mancini, needless to say, did not move to Milan to operate in the nether regions of the transfer market. He supplemented his squad in January, with Inter’s mid-table status only endorsing the significance of the Europa League.
This is a fixture laced with historical significance. The high point in Celtic’s history arrived against Inter on a Lisbon afternoon in 1967, with video footage of that European Cup success shown to supporters 15 minutes before kick-off here. The surviving members of that Lisbon Lions team were roared onto the pitch moments later, where they performed a guard of honour for the class of 2015. This all seemed rather back to front.
The specific allure of Inter, added to a break from the monotony of the Scottish Premier League, contributed to a sold out Celtic Park for the first time in 14 months. Such a setting is rightly recognised as one of the most iconic in Europe. The pre-match atmosphere represented that of a Champions League game.
Deila had seemed to object to the pre-match notion that his reign would be best judged on occasions such as these. Yet that is a logical assumption, such is the gulf in resource between Celtic and their opponents in Scotland. Even in progression to the Europa League’s last 32, Celtic never really convinced. The synopsis of the opening stages here was even worse.
It was the home defence which was glaringly culpable as Inter grabbed the lead. Xherdan Shaqiri was allowed to latch all-too easily on to a pass from Zdravko Kuzmanovic. Even then, Craig Gordon may regret diving to save an initial Shaqiri shot which looked to be flying wide. The Swiss forward slotted home the rebound, Gordon having knocked the ball back into his path.
The second goal came from more woeful Celtic defending. Shaqiri lofted the ball back into the penalty area after a corner was pinged out to him by Kuzmanovic. Rodrigo Palacio had time and space to slam the ball past Gordon.
If the tie already appeared over, Celtic are due credit for their attitude. Inter's defence proved it, too, can be decidedly weak. Stuart Armstrong, making his home debut, collected an Adam Matthews cut-back before producing a low finish.
In Celtic's very next attack, Matthews looked to feed Armstrong again; whilst the midfielder was credited in some quarters with another goal from close range, it looked clear that Inter's Hugo Campagnaro had deflected the ball past his own goalkeeper. Suddenly, it was game on.
The madness of this first half was not yet complete. Rodrigo capitalised from a serious Gordon mistake, the goalkeeper diving to collect a long pass from Gary Medel but only succeeding in letting the ball slip through his fingers. Palacio duly restored the Inter advantage.
Given what had come before, there was an inevitability about the tame start to the second period. Inter had reverted to stubborn Italian type before Gary Mackay-Steven stole in and should have levelled the score. Instead, Juan Pablo Carrizo used his feet to save the winger's tame effort.
This came during Celtic’s most impressive and intelligent spell of the game, with Armstrong especially prominent.
Inter were content to maintain their advantage and counter-attack at pace. To be fair, against a team who continued to press so high up the field, Mancini’s tactic was perfectly understandable. A flurry of substitutions seemed to dull Celtic momentum until Guidetti’s looping shot.
Guardian Service
