Good defensive tactics, an amazing performance by Forster in goal, a partisan crowd and a pinch of good luck. With these ingredients, Celtic cooked up a night in which Barcelona was unable to offer its best side.
The game took a turn for the worse for Barça on 20 minutes and a comeback proved impossible on the night. Considering how the home fans celebrated winning a corner, the whole of Celtic Park seemed to be aware of the aerial threat posed by the Scots.
Everyone that is, except Jordi Alba, who failed to mark Wanyama properly, allowing him to head the ball home at his leisure. The Kenyan midfielder took his chance and opened the scoring with a superb header.
Of course, Barça tried everything to turn things around and didn't give Celtic a moment's piece all night, but they lacked accuracy in front of goal.
In the first half, Celtic's defence made a number of mistakes – none of which were taken advantage of by the visitors – but it grew in stature as the minutes ticked by.
The hosts started to believe they could pull off the win, although that wasn't going to change their game plan. All that was left for them to do was continue parking the bus and resist Barça's continued attacks.
But, just as a Barça comeback looked most likely, the visitors suffered another unexpected setback. Forster kicked long, Xavi failed to control, the ball found Watt, who comfortably beat Valdés after Mascherano failed to close him down in time.
Messi gave Barça a glimpse of hope in the 90th minute, but the cards had been dealt and Celtic had pulled off a coup, not without first withstanding a four-minute onslaught from the visitors. Three points for the Scots, second in the group. Barcelona, two points ahead, remain in top spot.
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