If Only Carlsberg Made Champs League Nights

It couldn’t have got any better than Tuesday. Celtic decided to scrap the swipe card at my turnstyles thus allowing me to get in on time. Traffic problems but a kybosh on my plan to get to the ground for 7, arrived at 7.30 and was in for the tablecloth waving in the centre circle and Celtic played like a European team.

It was a kind of performance you have seen European teams execute against us numerous times. A pass and move system that becomes tight when you lose the ball but expansive when you win it back. Play on the break with pace and stretch the opposition. In fact I struggle to remember such a performance from a Celtic team.

Our game plan in the 2nd half would have been executed perfectly if our footballing triangles had managed to find the final ball. That was our only fault. We let the pace drop, became scrappy and nervous. But were a team whose tactics were drawn from chapter 22 of Alec MacDonald’s Airdrie 1992 book of tactics ever going to trouble our back 4?

When Copenhagen had the ball we got tight and said to them pass through us, go on you know you want to. When they tried, Lenny or Gravesen stole the ball back, Big Mick won a heider or Lee Naylor crunched into a challenge.

The ball was then passed to Aiden or Naka who proved nights like these were made for them. The teased, created, committed players and generally tormented the life out of the land of the giant’s full backs. The tireless Magic and the excellent Miller then dragged the lumbering coo’s of centre half’s around the place like bulls tormenting a matador.

The support once again proved it is a different beast on European nights. It backed the team. It sang. It never left early. The Copenhagen fans were great as well. They had a sense of humour and made the biggest gaff of the night by singing “They’ll be coming down the road” song that the tartan army sing and expected us to join in. Or were they being ironic?

In the end it’s 3 points. Nothing has been decided and we know Benfica will be a different proposition. Benfica could punish our slackness when we lose the ball. Benfica could expose holes in our attacking set up.

Even though Lenny was magnificent and, much to sevens justification, is now a must 1st choice pick for certain games, he could be let down by Tommy G’s tendency to charge around like a demented 3 year old after a packet of smarties. Against Benfica the Gravesen will need to haud his weesh or Lenny, even though he is looking fitter than a supermodel, might be exposed.

Our back 4 will need to be more on their toes, as Benfica will be quick and nimble not big and slow as Copenhagen were. Remember how much trouble Louis Saha caused us at Old Trafford? If Benfica go for it then they will stretch our defence.

Up front the return of JvoH will be a boost. Even though Magic played well the big Dutch fellow gives us something different something the Portuguese won’t like. In Kenny Miller we have a nark that will trouble defenders who like to pose on the ball and like time. In Kenny Miller we also have a player who is annoying our friends across the river with his interviews, his goal scoring celebrations and general loving of life in the Hoops.

Magic eh?

It might all come crashing down against a streetwise Benfica side. A team that won at Anfield last season. A team that should have been in pot 2 instead of us. A team that won’t fear coming to CP.

Hell it might even come crashing down at Westfield on Sunday as the CL hangover kicks in. But at the moment we have a nice glow. We seem to have a team dripping with spirit that only winning games can bring. We also have a system and set up that allows flair players to play and limited players to excel.

Magic eh?

Hail Hail