Celtic's dreams of tasting European glory again came to an end in Seville as Porto triumphed 3-2 in an epic and exhausting UEFA Cup final.
Larsson celebrates his exquisite first header in Seville (CliveBrunskill/Getty../images)
Brazilian striker Derlei's strike in the 24th minute of extra-time ended the resistance of 10-man Celtic, who put a glorious struggle against their Portuguese opponents, for whom Nuno Valente was dismissed in the final minute.Porto twice went in front, through Derlei and Dmitri Alenichev, but twice Henrik Larsson headed the Glasgow side level to take the match into extra-time.Bobo Balde's dismissal made matters difficult for Martin O'Neill's tired side in the extra period, and though the 10 men put in a magnificent effort, they finally had to accept defeat.By the final whistle, after a thriller of a second half and despite the result, there can have been no regrets.Of the estimated 80,000 Celtic fans who had launched the most good-natured of invasions of Andalucia, only around 35,000 made it into the Estadio Olimpico for the match. Even so, they still outnumbered the blue-and-white clad Porto supporters by two to one.Whatever the result, this was always going to a memorable night for Celtic, though it ended in tears of despair rather than jubilation. Perhaps never before has a match been so transformed by fans alone from mere a game of football into a national event.Before kick-off, the stifling heat looked to be Celtic's chief foe, with temperatures hovering around the 90 degree Fahrenheit mark. Perhaps it was the tropical climate, perhaps just the sheer weight of expectation, but the Celtic players looked tense from the start while Porto appeared assured.With Deco looking lively, Joos Valgaeren had his hands full, and it was the Belgian's foul on Porto's playmaker which created the first opportunity of the game.Deco's free-kick was blocked by Neil Lennon, but the rebound was struck first-time and low by Maniche, bringing a good save out of Rab Douglas.Celtic forced themselves into the fray and conjured up a shooting chance for Stilian Petrov 30 yards out, but he miskicked his volley.Deco, turning theatrical tumbles into an art form, won another couple of free-kicks, striking the wall himself first then making way for Valente to shoot straight at Rob Douglas.Larsson, taking a leaf out of Deco's book, fell spectacularly under Jorge Costa's tackle and then whipped in a fierce free-kick which tested Vitor Baia to the full.Derlei scuffed a shot into Douglas' hands, but with half-an-hour gone O'Neill would have been pleased his side restricted the Portuguese to a minimum of chances from open play.His only worry perhaps was that the Hoops had been even less creative, though that changed when Larsson opened up Porto down the right and Didier Agathe bent over a wicked cross which only just missed Chris Sutton's head.Agathe tried again, picking out Sutton who flicked on and this time it was Larsson within inches of making a vital connection.Lennon hacked clear after Alenichev's ball in ricocheted around the box, then Douglas pulled off a brilliant block to deny Deco after he burst past Valgaeren onto Maniche's pass.On the stroke of the interval, Celtic's hopes took a real turn for the worse when they conceded a goal at the worst possible time.Alenichev was allowed far too much space on the left to pick up Deco's cross, and although Douglas once again pulled off a superb stop, he could do nothing to stop Derlei ramming home the loose ball from close range to spark wild scenes of Porto celebration.Ill-feeling between the teams broke out at the half-time whistle as Agathe's frustration boiled over, but O'Neill will have been more concerned with changing a system which had allowed Porto to pull apart Celtic's defensive tactics and left Larsson and Sutton isolated.Maybe the streaker who appeared just before the second half began and ran off dribbling the match ball - he tried and failed to beat Baia from 12 yards - eased the tension.Whatever the reason, within two minutes of the re-start Larsson had levelled matters.Agathe outpaced Valente and crossed to the far-post for the Swedish striker to leap above Ricardo Costa and direct a perfectly-aimed header over Baia, the ball dropping into the net off the upright.Not a bad time to score your 200th goal, and his equaliser was followed by an incredible crescendo of noise, though it did not take long for that to die out.Deco was the architect, a swift turn earning him space before a delicious pass inside the defender allowed Alenichev to drive the ball low past Douglas.A couple of minutes later and Larsson did it again.Thompson swung over a corner and the Swede, completely unmarked, powered in a header from six yards out to make it 2-2.Paulo Ferreira showed Porto's threat remained when he sent a scorching shot whistling past an upright, Derlei stung Douglas' fingers from 25 yards, then just before extra-time Alenichev fired just wide.Into extra-time and the prospect of a `silver goal' - but Celtic looked on their last legs.The fatigue showed when Balde's tired, but crude lunge on Derlei earned him a second caution and so a red card.Sutton found some strength and shot over from 25 yards before O'Neill sent on 20-year-old Shaun Maloney to add fresh legs in attack, and he immediately caused problems for the Porto back-line.But the exhaustion took its final toll.Douglas spilled Marco Ferreira's shot, Derlei kept his cool, moved inside one challenge and hammered the ball into the net to end those Celtic's dreams.
