Player ratings: Celtic 1-3 Barcelona
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Celtic fell to a defeat ahead of their Champions League crunch tie against Astana, with a comfortable 3-1 win for Barcelona.
Barcelona opened the scoring through a stunning strike from Turkish midfielder Arda Turan after 10 minutes.
Turan’s goal was soon cancelled out by Leigh Griffiths who pounced on a sloppy Barcelona mistake and slotted into an empty net. But just two minutes later, Celtic returned the gift, when Efe Ambrose turned a cross into his own net.
Munir then made it three for the Catalan side, when he scored from a cutback by Luis Suarez with just five minutes of the first-half remaining.
With a number of changes for both sides in the second-half, the match became a training exercise for both sides and no further goals were scored.
Celtic now face a massive tie on Wednesday night against Astana and will aim to be in the Champions League play-offs come Friday’s draw.
Here are our player ratings from the game.
Craig Gordon 5/10
Could do nothing about the opening goal from Turan, but could have maybe given Ambrose a shout for second goal. Helpless for third as Suarez squared the ball to Munir.
Saidy Janko 4.5/10
Tried to get up and down the right-hand side but Barcelona exploited the defender all too often. Still lacking in match sharpness, which was clear to see.
Efe Ambrose 3.5/10
Unfortunately was exposed far too often by Barcelona. Second and third goals could have been prevented. Not the best performance at all. You could feel that the inevitable mistake was coming.
Eoghan O'Connell 7/10
Defended well and continued his fine form from previous games against Leicester and Astana. Looked assured at the back and will likely start on Wednesday night.
Emilio Izaguirre 5/10
Didn’t look too out of place at left-back but was caught out by Messi on a few occasions.
Scott Brown 5/10
A mixed game from the captain. Played well in patches but is still missing that drive in midfield. However, there were glimpses of this in the opening minutes.
Nir Bitton 5/10
Had an early knock which affected him during the match. Look comfortable as always on the ball and was the main source of attacks starting.
Callum McGregor 4.5/10
Having impressed recently, McGregor didn’t do as well in the middle of the park. Somewhat off the pace and wasn’t his usual creative self.
Patrick Roberts 7.5/10
By far the best player on the pitch in the first-half. His mazy runs and trickery provided a handful for Barcelona. Will blossom even more under the reign of Brendan Rodgers.
Leigh Griffiths 6.5/10
Capitalised on a defensive error to score his goal. Griffiths’ pressing of the Barcelona back-line was impressive and forced the Spanish side into mistakes in the first-half.
James Forrest 5/10
Tried to get into the match as much as possible but was caught offside a number of times. Tried to carry the ball and pose a threat but looked off the boil.
Leo Fasan 5/10
Good save from Denis Suarez and commanded his box well. Looks a more than capable backup if Gordon gets injured with Bailly out for several months with a broken ankle.
Kristoffer Ajer 6.5/10
Made a good number of blocks and interceptions from the youngster. Looked very comfortable at the back and will be fighting for a place in the Celtic defence on Wednesday.
Moussa Dembele 4/10
Never looked in the game and took one too many touches when he was on the ball. Still looks nervous when he has a chance to score.
Stuart Armstrong 4/10
Good running in midfield but didn’t have the impact that was anticipated.
Nadir Ciftci 5/10
Decent half-turn shot from him early in second-half but dwindled away from the match. Looks improved though from last season.
Tom Rogic 7/10
Massively impressive with his dynamism and powerful runs. Was the main creative source in the second-half and will give Rodgers a selection headache ahead of Wednesday’s match.
Scott Allan 4/10
Tried to dominate midfield but similar to Armstrong, he couldn’t get a foothold in the match.
Ryan Christie 4/10
Looked lively when he was on but didn’t cause the Barcelona backline too much trouble.
Jamie McCart 3/10
The youngster came on midway through the second-half and didn’t look out of place.
Anthony Ralston 2/10
Similar to McCart, Ralston came on midway through the second-half and look assured when on.
Darnell Fisher 2/10
Late substitute for Izaguirre.
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