A Moment in Time: Thommo's acrobatic strike sunk Barcelona at Paradise | OneFootball

It was 20 years ago today, on March 11, 2004, that Celtic faced Barcelona in the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.

The Hoops, who had reached the final of the competition the previous season, had dropped into the 2003/04 UEFA Cup after narrowly missing out on qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

And after beating Czech side, FK Teplice, 3-1 on aggregate, Martin O’Neill’s side were drawn against Barcelona.

The first leg was at home, and on an unforgettable night at Paradise, the Hoops took on, and beat, the Catalan giants…

UEFA Cup 2003/04Last 16, first leg March 11, 2004 Celtic Park, Glasgow

CELTIC… 1(Thompson 59)

BARCELONA… 0

It was the tie of the round and the one which got the fans talking as Celtic took on Barcelona for a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.

Celtic, having reached the UEFA Cup final the season before, were looking for another extended run in the competition while Barcelona, with Ronaldinho in their ranks, arrived at Celtic Park as favourites for the game.

But although the Catalan side created a number of chances, it was Celtic who scored the only goal of the game.

Alan Thompson cracked home a knock-down from Henrik Larsson after 59 minutes was enough to give Martin O'Neill's side a slender lead to take to the Nou Camp.

The main controversy of the night, however, was the sprinkling of red card issued – one for Rab Douglas and Thiago Motta after a half-time stramash in the tunnel which saw David Marshall emerge in the Celtic goal for the second-half.

And Argentinian striker, Javier Saviola, also exited early when he got his marching orders for a reckless tackle that earned him his second yellow card.

The return leg in the Nou Camp saw the Hoops produce a heroic performance, with David Marshall in superb form throughout the 90 minutes to ensure the game ended 0-0, with Celtic progressing to the quarter-finals.