Skipper Scott Brown was sent off as Celtic slumped to a 1-0 defeat by Barcelona in their Champions League Group H tie at Parkhead last night.
The Hoops were reduced to 10 men in the 58th minute when Brown was red-carded by referee Stephane Lannoy after a kick at Neymar following his original foul on the the Brazilian.
The Hoops came close to opening the scoring moments later when substitute James Forrest, on for Mikael Lustig, had a powerful volley saved by Victor Valdes before Charlie Mulgrew came within inches with a header.
However, the Scottish champions were dealt another blow in the 76th minute when Cesc Fabregas headed Barcelona into the lead.
Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster denied Neymar twice and also substitute Alexis Sanchez, who had set up the goal, in the closing stages as gaps opened up in the Parkhead defence.
It was a spirited performance by Neil Lennon’s men, who as expected chased the ball for most of the game, especially in the first half.
Despite that Forster had little to do and the Hoops were given a warm round of applause by their supporters at the end of the game.
However, Brown’s dismissal made an uphill task even more difficult.
Celtic play Ajax in their next group fixture on October 22 and, after losing 2-0 to AC Milan in their Group H opener, they will have to fight for Champions League survival without the Scotland midfielder.
Defender Mikael Lustig replaced attacker Teemu Pukki, who started on the bench where he was joined by James Forrest, who had recovered from a virus and midfielder Beram Kayal, back from a groin complaint.
Barcelona were without Lionel Messi as well as Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba and Carles Puyol but the Catalans still had a host of big names including Fabregas, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez and Brazilian star Neymar.
Barca had dominated possession almost from the start of the game when the two sides met last November and in the early stages of this encounter they pulled the home side all over the park.
However, in the fifth minute Celtic cut their way through the visiting defence for the first time and Barca keeper Victor Valdes denied Georgios Samaras at the expense of a corner which, although came to nothing, boosted the home side’s belief.
The Catalans, playing in an unfamiliar all-black kit and without an out-and-out centre forward, kept a tight grip on the match.
Neymar had a drive from 25 yards in the 17th minute which went wide of the post before a Iniesta dropped his shoulder to leave Charlie Mulgrew for dead before driving over the bar.