FC Barcelona U19 v Celtic: First three European points in the bag (2-1)

FC Barcelona U19s got off to a winning start in their Youth League opener against Celtic, winning 2-1 at the Miniestadi thanks to goals from Carlos Pérez and Guillemenot.

Gabri García could not have wished for a better start from his team, as the Barça youngsters got off to a flyer. After just two minutes, Carlos Pérez masterfully put away a free-kick from just outside the area beyond the reach of Doohan in the Celtic goal for 1-0.

Barça maintained the lions’ share of possession after the goal, and the best Celtic could to stop the home side’s free-flowing football was by some persistent fouling.

The Catalans thought they had doubled their lead when Lee had the ball in the net, only for the goal to be disallowed for an alleged foul by Guillemenot in the build-up.

 In the second half, Celtic took the shackles off as they went in pursuit of an equaliser. It came at a cost for the Scots who, in committing more men forward, left gaps in behind which Barça exploited.

On 64 minutes, Guillemenot seized on a defensive mistake before finishing past Doohan to make it 2-0 for Barça at a point when the game hung in the balance.

The goal gave Barça the cushion they craved, but perhaps it served to relax them a little too much, as Celtic were back in the game six minutes later. Aitchison’s solo effort halved the deficit and gave the visitors real hope in the closing stages.

As Celtic threw everything forward in pursuit of a point, Barça stood firm to collect three valuable points in their European debut.