Celtic FC"It is one of the proudest nights of my career – it was a monumental effort," said manager Neil Lennon after Celtic won 2-1 against FC Barcelona in UEFA Champions League Group G. Already a special day for Celtic, who were celebrating their 125th anniversary, goals from Victor Wanyama and 18-year-old European debutant Tony Watt supplied the icing on the birthday cake – along with a helping hand from goalkeeper Fraser Forster, since dubbed 'La Gran Muralla' (The Great Wall) by the Spanish press.
The sight of Celtic fan Rod Stewart breaking down in tears provided an iconic image to match a memorable Wednesday night in Glasgow, eclipsing the events of Thursday in central Portugal. There, in UEFA Europa League Group B, A. Académica de Coimbra recorded their first European victory since 1969, in the process ending Club Atlético de Madrid's continental record run of 16 straight wins in UEFA competition. The reaction of their own celebrity supporter, poet and politician Manuel Alegre, is unknown.
Goal: Taison (FC Metalist Kharkiv)
Who can ever forget Marco van Basten's goal in the 1988 UEFA European Championship final? Well, Taison's opening effort for Metalist against Rosenborg BK in UEFA Europa League Group K on Thursday was arguably every bit as good. Fininho's cross looked harmless enough until Taison – the Ukrainian hosts' 24-year-old Brazilian forward – showed all the poise, technique and precision of Van Basten to unleash a fearsome first-time volley into the opposite corner.
Rosenborg winger Bořek Dočkal said: "I've never seen such an amazing goal live. It was goal of the year, maybe. Goal of the century, I don't know. It was so amazing."
Player: Edinson Cavani (SSC Napoli)Heading for their first European home defeat since December 1994, Napoli needed rescuing against FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in UEFA Europa League Group F. They may have been 2-1 down with 13 minutes left, but then along came Cavani with three late goals – a free-kick and a volley included – to add to his early opener and bail out his side. In so doing, the Uruguayan international followed in the footsteps of Falcao to become just the second player to score four times in a UEFA Europa League fixture.
The 25-year-old attacker's only disappointment was that his family were not there to witness his Stadio San Paolo heroics. "They could not be here today because we are waiting for a second son," he said.
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