The jubilation in green and white knew no bounds at the end as Celtic Football Club reached the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in twelve years on Wednesday. Music icon Rod Stewart was in the stands to watch the Hoops' narrow 1-0 win over Young Boys from Bern.
For the 80-year-old Stewart and all Celtic fans among the 55,000-plus spectators at Celtic Park, however, the game turned into a real nail-biter. Team manager Brendan Rodgers' men played a brilliant first half. After just five minutes, Kygo Furuhashi put the ball in the Swiss goal for the first time, but was slightly offside - the goal was rightly disallowed. The Japanese striker then netted again in the 30th minute, but Celtic captain Callum McGregor was only able to win the ball with a foul and the Hoops' second goal was also conceded by VAR.
Engels fails from the spot
Nine minutes later, the referee awarded Celtic a penalty after a foul on Greg Taylor. However, Arne Engels, who is normally a confident penalty taker, lost his nerve. The Belgian failed to score against Bern goalkeeper Marvin Keller.
The score remained 0-0 at the break and the game changed after the break. Bern suddenly became more courageous and Celtic had more and more problems with the Yong Boys. Celtic goalkeeper Kaspar Schmeichel, who yesterday extended his contract with the Scottish champions until 2026, had to risk his neck and neck at times to prevent the team from going behind.
However, Celtic Park turned into a madhouse shortly before the end. In the 86th minute, Reo Hatate set up substitute Adam Idah. He was free in front of the Berne goal, but Keller was initially able to keep the ball out. The ball bounced right at the feet of Berne defender Benito, from whom the leather then landed in the goal.
Celtic were now very close to the victory they had hoped for and managed to hold on to their narrow lead. Even the red card against Daizen Maeda, who was sent off shortly before the end for a second kick, was no longer a problem.
The Sun wrote ‘Bhoy oh Bhoy’ afterwards about the nerve-wracking game, and that's probably exactly what Sir Rod was thinking in the stands. It was not initially known whether the Maggie May singer celebrated the victory in one of the city's many pubs afterwards. However, it is clear that Rod was in high spirits after the game. It is also not known whether the Bhoys in Green fan was as moved to tears after the final whistle as he was after Celtic's 2:1 victory over Lionel Messi and FC Barcelona in 2012.
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