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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Alan Galindo

Neil Lennon's seven word response to Barcelona spy mission as he details THAT Celtic Euro night

Neil Lennon has named beating Barcelona with Celtic as his managerial highlight.

The Celtic hero tasted many trophy triumphs during his time at the club but it is that famous Champions League win over the Spanish giants in Glasgow he will never forget. That 2012 win thanks to goals from Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt is still talked about to this day with the November triumph inflicting defeat on the La Liga side for the first time that season.

The previous year they had won the competition with Lennon hailing that 2011 win over Manchester United as the best team performance he has ever witnessed. So drawing them a year later was a daunting prospect for the then Celtic gaffer who jetted out to watch them in action a week before against Deportivo de La Coruna. Three goals in 12 minutes had the Hoops hero worried but with the game ending 5-4 and the nature of the goals conceded from Pep Guardiola's side - it gave Lenny that hope that set-pieces was the way to go.

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Speaking on Sky Sports' Essential Football podcast, he detailed what was going through his mind in that moment as he opened up on the scenes at full-time.

He said: "My managerial highlight would be beating Barcelona in the Champions League.

"I watched them in 2011 beating Manchester United at Wembley. It is the best team performance I have ever witnessed. Man United were a brilliant team and had Rooney and Carrick and had won the Champions League in 2008.

"But this team Pep Guardiola had brought together just dismantled them with the best football I had ever seen. Drawing them in the Champions League a year later was quite daunting and I went to watch them a week before against Deportivo de La Coruna.

"They were 3-0 up after about 12 minutes and I turned round to my assistant and said 'I think we are in trouble here'. It ended up 5-4. La Coruna's goals were a penalty, free-kick, corner and own-goal. So you are thinking set plays. You've got to try and work a set-play.

"They played zonal and Jordi Alba was back post. He is about 5 foot 3. Hang it up at the back post. If we get a corner in the game. If we get that far up the pitch. What you needed to do in that instance was score first and give yourself something to hold on to. We scored from a set play but the next 20-25 minutes, it must be like sitting ringside watching Muhammad Ali or behind the rope watching Tiger Woods in his pomp.

"I am watching Messi, Xavi and Iniesta angry. For the next 20 minutes they played a brand of football I have never seen. We ended up winning the game 2-1 and it was the 125th anniversary of Celtic. So you can imagine the scenes during and after the game. It was absolutely incredible."

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