Valiant Celtic Lose At Inter Milan

Celtic battled stoically in the San Siro before
succumbing to a stunning late strike from Inter’s
Fredy Guarin.
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Any chance the Scottish champions had of
progressing looked to have been extinguished when
Virgil van Dijk was shown a first-half red card.
But Celtic did not crumble and remained in the tie
until Guarin’s fine finish.
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Despite the disappointment of their exit, Ronny Deila
can take comfort from his side’s ability to compete
with the Milanese over two legs.
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Celtic’s Jason Denayer and Nir Bitton were
defensively outstanding as Celtic spent most of the
second half camped around their own box.
But neither they nor keeper Craig Gordon could
resist Guarin’s blistering drive from 22 yards.
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Celtic’s most famous victory on foreign soil was
against Inter Milan in the 1967 European Cup final
and hopes of a first win on Italian soil were high
before Van Dijk’s sending off.
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However, there was a first-minute scare when the
Dutchman allowed Mauro Icardi in behind him, only
for the striker to scuff his shot at Gordon.
In an open, end-to-end first half Gary Mackay-Steven
had Celtic’s best opportunity but struck his shot
straight at Inter keeper Juan Pablo Carrizo.
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Two Celtic penalty claims went unheeded by
Slovakian referee Ivan Kruzliak, who took a harder
line as Van Dijk caught Rodrigo Palacio from behind
and shortly afterwards picked up a second booking
for a foul on Icardi.
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That changed the balance of the match, with Celtic
forced largely onto the defensive as centre-half
Denayer blocked Xherdan Shaqiri’s goalbound shot
and Gordon kept out Danilo D’Ambrosio on the
rebound.
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The Celtic goalkeeper also made an absolutely
stunning one-handed save to claw away Mauro
Icardi’s header from a free-kick moments after Van
Dijk’s dismissal.
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Celtic’s organisation and stout defending meant the
goalkeeper was largely unworked after the break
until having to pick Guarin’s shot out of the net, the
moment the tie was sealed.