Before this game, Celtic knew that even winning both of their remaining Champions League matches would probably not see them qualify from the group. With only two games to save your collective European souls, you desperately don’t want to be facing Barcelona. To make it even worse, the other team that Celtic needed to beat was Manchester City.

Barcelona were not at their irresistible best for much of the game, to the joy of Brendan Rodgers. In fact, you could probably say that Celtic were playing well enough to have restricted the Catalan side, rather than it simply being that they were underperforming.

Whatever the reasoning for it, Celtic at least avoided a humiliation at home on Wednesday night and that, given their relative resources, should be applauded in itself.

With the desired result so unlikely, so much of the game was about measuring their own progress as a team. Celtic can hold their heads relatively high and, most importantly of all, there were some iconic images from the game…

Simply the Best

He is the greatest footballer that has ever lived and he opened the scoring on Wednesday night.

Seemingly fully recovered from an illness that kept him out of La Liga action at the weekend, Lionel Messi was reunited with his Suarez and Neymar to torment the Celtic defence from the off.

Magic Trio

Separated last weekend, Barcelona’s front three dream team were reunited in Scotland on Wednesday night.

Celtic’s defence are not accustomed to playing against players of such a calibre and, despite holding their own for much of the first half, there was a feeling of inevitability about the evening.

All together now

It was going to need a special team effort – with a bit of individual magic – if Celtic were to pull off an unlikely result against Barcelona.

Before the game kicked off, there was a final huddle between the Hoops’ players. What it would be to be a fly on one of those luminous boots.

Can probably hazard a guess or two at what was said, anyway.

Tale of two gaffers

There was only so much Brendan Rodgers could do on the touchline as he watched his Celtic side struggle against the superior quality of Barcelona.

Luis Enrique was, as ever, far less animated on the touchline, just occasionally wandering around his box.

And its over

Quite fittingly, Celtic’s Champions League dreams were crushed for another year by a Lionel Messi penalty early on in the second half.

Barcelona’s celebrations were relatively muted as they did what they had to do to further secure their position at the top of Group A.