Barcelona manager Tito Vilanova felt his side deserved all three points, despite needing a last-minute equalizer from Jordi Alba to seal victory over a determined Celtic side in their Champions League match at the Camp Nou.
Celtic opened the scoring courtesy Giorgios Samaras in the 18th minute, before Barcelona equalized through a wonderfully crafted goal. Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta all combined with the latter finishing expertly on the stroke of half-time.
Celtic fought tooth and nail in the second 45, but Alba got on the end of a nice cross from Adriano in the final kick of the game to break their resistance and their hearts.
"We scored at the death but we did enough beforehand to merit the victory," Vilanova said. "We brought all of the weight to this encounter -- we had the chances and the possession. They were strong on the counter and in their aerial game. We know that if you don't persist, you don't win games.
"We knew the risks we were taking, they could have scored a second, but you have to keep going until the end. We knew a week ago that (youngster) Marc Bartra would play this game. He's really quick and has good vision for high balls.
"We knew he could help us. We could have signed another central defender but it was my decision not to.
"It's not easy to play these type of games when you are facing ten or 11 men in their own area. Their goalkeeper did very well, while we also hit the post. It was a difficult encounter, but I don't think we had all of the luck we might have had tonight."
Celtic manager Neil Lennon was a mixture of pride and disappointment, after his side put up brave resistance for the entire 90 minutes against the "best side in the world."
"While I'm disappointed for the players I'm also immensely proud of them," he said. "They were brave and stuck to what we asked them to do.
"We conceded ground when we had to, but we defended brilliantly and at times, on the counterattack, we looked dangerous. This is the best team in the world, so to come here to the Nou Camp and play like that doesn't surprise me about these players.
"Everyone had written us off, but I know the quality and the character of the team. We're playing it game by game and although we didn't budget for anything from tonight, we came very, very close to getting something."
Lennon reserved special praise for goalkeeper Fraser Forster, who made a few brilliant saves - a one-handed reaction stop off a close-range header from Messi particularly catching the eye.
"Fraser is top class and he'll go really far in the game. But as a group, all 14 of them, I can't speak highly enough of them. We were tiring towards the end. It is physically and mentally demanding, but I thought we'd done enough to see the game out."
