Celtic 2
Feyenoord 1
LIAM SCALES WAS named Player of the Match as Celtic beat Feyenoord to finally end their long wait for a Champions League win.
Luis Palma’s 33rd-minute penalty put the home side on track after the impressive Scales had been brought down, but the Dutch champions levelled through Yankuba Minteh in the 82nd minute.
However, substitute Gustaf Lagerbielke was the unlikely hero in a dramatic finish to the dead rubber at Parkhead.
On his first appearance since September, the Sweden centre-back headed home his first Celtic goal in stoppage time, nodding in from close range following Matt O’Riley’s exquisite cross.
It was Celtic’s first Champions League group stage win in 16 matches since they beat Anderlecht six years ago during Brendan Rodgers’ first spell in charge and their first at home since defeating Ajax in October 2013.
The dramatic finale livened up a previously flat home support and ensured Group E bottom side Celtic doubled last year’s two-point tally.
Celtic got the breakthrough when Ramiz Zerrouki pulled down Scales as Feyenoord defended a corner. The visitors protested vehemently, but French referee Benoit Batien had not needed VAR to spot the offence and replays backed his decision. Palma kept his cool to convert after the furore.
The visitors levelled eight minutes from time when the ball broke for Minteh in the left channel and the substitute had time and space to fire home from 10 yards.
Two Hart saves and a Scales block prevented Celtic from falling behind before Callum McGregor struck the crossbar from 30 yards.
It looked like another late hard luck story for Celtic until Lagerbielke’s winner sparked jubilation with several supporters running on to the pitch to celebrate. One sparked an angry response from Rodgers as the manager ran up the touchline to berate the fan as he was led away by stewards.
Group E’s other game was a meeting of the two sides who had already secured their place in the last 16, as goals from Antoine Griezmann and Lino gave Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Lazio and secured top spot at their visitors’ expense.
Porto 5-3 Shakhtar Donetsk
Porto reached the Champions League last 16 as Galeno netted a double and veteran Pepe scored in a 5-3 victory in their winner-takes-all clash with Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk.
The hosts only needed to avoid defeat at the Estadio do Dragao to progress from Group H with Barcelona, while Shakhtar needed a win to pip them to a top-two finish.
Antwerp beat Barcelona 3-2 in the other group game as Porto finished level with the Catalan giants on points but ended behind them on head-to-head.
Shakhtar had to settle for third place in the group and a spot in the draw for the Europa League knock-out round play-offs.
Galeno forced the ball home from close range to give Porto a ninth-minute lead after Evanilson did well to stretch and pull the ball across for his fellow Brazilian.
But Shakhtar gave themselves hope of a comeback as Danylo Sikan tapped in Oleksandr Zubkov’s pass to finish off a sweeping move just before the half-hour mark.
Porto’s players protested as the assistant referee had initially flagged Zubkov as offside before play continued and Sikan scored, only for the VAR review to show that the goal should stand.
🚩 The offside flag goes up
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 13, 2023
🛑 Porto players stop
⚽️ Referee waves play on and Shakhtar score
This is why you're always told to 'play to the whistle' 😬#UCL pic.twitter.com/o8mBGGMZrg
Porto regained control two minutes before half-time, though, when Galeno’s strike took a slight deflection and flew into the bottom corner.
Shakhtar’s hopes of progression were effectively ended in the 62nd minute when Galeno played in Mehdi Taremi who hammered a left-footed strike into the top corner to give Porto a two-goal cushion.
The visitors grabbed a second goal 17 minutes from time when Sikan’s shot was saved by Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, but the ball rebounded off an unfortunate Stephen Eustaquio and into his own net.
Porto’s 40-year-old centre-back Pepe extended his record for oldest Champions League goalscorer by stabbing in from a corner and Francisco Conceicao added a fifth.
Shakhtar had the final say as they dropped into the Europa League with a fight, as 19-year-old Brazilian Eguinaldo netted just two minutes after coming on as a substitute.
– Additional reporting © AFP 2023
