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5 iconic battle of Britain matches between English & Scottish clubs...

Posted by Christopher Smith on

Ahead of tonight's big match between Manchester City and Celtic, we thought we'd take a look at some of the most iconic matches to have taken place between Scottish and English sides in European competition.

Some of these are fairly recent, some of them are not so recent...


Celtic 1 - 0 Manchester United (2006 - Champion's League)

It's hard to believe this match was now just a shade over 10 years ago. An out-of-sorts Manchester United side travelled to Celtic Park in desperate need of a win to end their poor run, but came up against a stubborn and determined Celtic side.

Celtic held their own and came out victorious against a United side that included the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs in their starting XI.

The game is mainly remembered for Celtic's Japanese cult hero Shunsuke Nakamura curling an absolutely glorious free kick past the despairing Edwin Van Der Sar to win the game. 


Liverpool 1 - 1 Hearts (2012 - Europa League Qualifiers)

This is the most recent entry on our battle of Britain list and saw a plucky Heart of Midlothian side take Luis Suarez's Liverpool down to the wire in a Europa League qualifier.

Having narrowly lost the home leg 1-0, Hearts went to Anfield with it all to do. Good organisation and tactics kept the score at 0-0 until the 84th minute. Hearts' David Templeton cut inside onto his right foot and drilled a shot down Pepe Reina's throat, only for the Liverpool keeper to flap at it and bundle it into his own net.

It looked as though Hearts might do the impossible and win at Anfield to take the tie into extra time, however the world class Luis Suarez scored a wonderful solo goal in the 87th minute to take Liverpool through. 


Leeds 1 - 2 Rangers (1992 - Champion's League)

This match saw the Champions of both leagues come up against each other in Europe's elite competition, with the Scots coming out on top. 

Having already won 2-1 in the home leg, Rangers travelled to Elland Road to defeat a Leeds side that included the likes of Gary McAllister and even Eric Cantona. 

Rangers sailed into a 2-0 lead with goals from Mark Hately and Ally McCoist, before Eric Cantona grabbed a late consolation goal for Leeds. Rangers were dubbed the unnoficial champions of Britain after this tie.


Arsenal 3 - 1 Celtic (2009 - Champion's League Qualifiers)

On this occasion the English side came out on top relatively comfortably. An Arsenal side that included Andrei Arshavin, Eduardo and even a fit Abou Diaby bossed the game for almost 90 minutes.

However, this tie will forever be remembered for a shameful dive by the Brazilian Eduardo to win a penalty in the 28th minute. Celtic were rightly infuriated as the resulting penalty effectively ended the tie.

Eduardo later received a retrospective ban from FIFA for simulation, making him one of the first players to receive such a punishment.


Aberdeen 3 - 1 Ipswich (1981 - UEFA Cup)

After a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the late Ipswich manager Bobby Robson commented that there was no way Aberdeen could possibly play any better than that. 

Ipswich had won the UEFA cup the season before, but the defending champions were in for a shock when they traveled to Pittodrie for the 2nd leg.

Aberdeen put on a show, winning the tie comfortably by 3 goals to 1 and controlling the match for almost the entire game. Ipswich were out and Aberdeen went on to reach the 3rd round, before winning the Cupwinner's Cup the very next season.


Will tonight's battle of Britain game between Celtic and Man City be one to remember? 


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