Thank you very much for joining me for what was a superb game this evening. We will be back next week for the second leg of this game. Inter will no doubt be favourites but Celtic showed tonight that they will be difficult to beat and they will make Inter earn their place in the last sixteen.
Before I go here's a look at tonight's other Europa League results. Anderlecht 0-0 Dynamo Moscow; Sevilla 1-0 Monchengladbach; Villarreal 2-1 Salzburg; Liverpool 1-0 Besiktas; Ajax 1-0 Legia Warsaw; Guingamp 2-1 Dynamo Kiev; Tottenham 1-1 Fiorentina.
Anyone fancy doing the same again next Thursday? If the game is as good next week it will be well worth watching.
Ronnie Deila will be delighted that his side have managed a draw after being behind to higher level opposition. Celtic showed real character this evening and they done it by playing his brand of football. He will wonder what might have been though with all three Inter goals coming as a result of errors from his team.
Inter would have taken a score draw before the game but Mancini's side will feel hard done by after being 2-0 and 3-2 up. They will still be favoured to go through but Guidetti's late goal has made things a little less straight forward.
What a game that was. Celtic snatched a draw right at the end and on balance it was probably a fair result. Inter were the better side in possession but they struggled to cope with the pace of Celtic's attacks.
FULL TIME CELTIC 3-3 INTERNAZIONALE
95' Inter have one last chance to win it when Denayer fouls Shaqiri twenty-five yards out from the goal. Shaqiri gets up to take the kick and it's going into the top corner but Gordon makes a superb save to seal a draw for the hosts.
93' GOAL! CELTIC 3-3! Celtic level in the dying minutes. The ball drops to Henderson on the edge of the box and the youngster flicks a sublime ball into the path of John Guidetti and the big Swede controls on his chest before finishing beautifully into the top corner.
90' Four minutes added on.
90' Yellow! Henderson is booked for a late challenge on Guarin.
87' Yellow! Johansen goes into the book for a barge on Medel seconds after the pair exchange words.
84' Shaqiri tries one from range and Gordon looks uncomfortable but he gets enough on it to keep it out.
83' Inter look to be happy with what they have and are now playing a 5-4-1 as Celtic push for an equaliser.
81' SUB! Ambrose comes on for Matthews.
80' Yellow! Campagnaro is the latest to go into the referee's notebook after he goes through the back of Henderson.
79' SUB! Kuzmanovic makes way and Brazilian left back Dodo comes on.
76' Almost a dream start for Henderson. Ranocchia can't clear a cross and the ball drops to Henderson but his shot is straight at Carrizo.
75' SUB! Both sides make a change with Kovacic coming on for Icardi for Inter. It's a double change for Celtic as Henderson and Guidetti come on for Armstrong and Griffiths.
71' Yellow! Van Dijk goes into the book after taking down Icardi when the Argentine gets goal side of the big Dutch man.
69' Celtic are pushing for the equaliser now and after a spell of sustained pressure the ball drops to Brown on the edge of the box but Ranocchia blocks his powerful effort.
67' Yellow! Santon goes into the book after a foul on MacKay-Steven.
66' Another great chance for Celtic when Izaguirre finds Griffiths in the box. He looks to be fouled but the ball breaks to Johansen and again Carrizo makes an excellent stop to deny the Norwegian.
61' Inter win a free kick after MacKay-Steven fouled Shaqiri. Guarin tried his luck from distance but it's easy for Gordon. Straight away Celtic break at the other end MacKay-Steven finds himself through on goal but Carrizo is alert and narrows the angle well before making the save with his left foot.
55' Biton tries another one from range and it goes just wide although Carrizo looked to have it covered.
53' That's better from Gordon. Shaqiri breaks away down the right and cuts inside onto his left foot and tries to curl one past the Celtic stopper. His shot looks to be curling in but Gordon gets down to tip it round the post.
49' Palacio gets away down the left but his shot is poor and Gordon gets down to make a comfortable save.
48' Nir Biton has the first shot of the second half but it's straight at Carrizo.
46' Celtic get us back underway. This will be a big forty-five minutes for the Scottish champions.
There are another seven games underway at the minute and they are now at half time. Here are the latest scores: Sevilla 0-0 Monchengladbach; Ajax 1-0 Legia Warsaw; Anderlecht 0-0 Dynamo Moscow; Liverpool 0-0 Besiktas; Villarreal 1-0 Salzburg; Guingamp 0-1 Dynamo Kiev; Tottenham 1-1 Fiorentina.
Roberto Mancini will be delighted with the score line but he can't be happy with how his team have defended. They look like they could crack under pressure and Mancini will be looking for his midfield to take the sting out of the game.
Ronnie Deila will have mixed feelings at half time. He will be happy that the team came back from 2-0 down but after all that effort and hard work he will be frustrated at the third goal and will feel the hosts should have gone in level at the break.
Five goals in that first half but in truth only one was from high quality attacking play. Armstrong's goal came after very good work from Adam Matthews but the other four will leave both managers scratching their heads.
What a crazy first half that was. Inter got off to a great start going 2-0 up but Celtic came back well with two goals in seventy-three seconds to level the game. As the game looked to be heading to the interval with the teams level Gordon had an an absolute howler and gifted Inter the lead at half time.
HALF TIME CELTIC 2-3 INTERNAZIONALE
45' GOAL! INTER 3-2! Another nightmare for Celtic. Palacio half chases a long ball that is going through to Gordon but the keeper completely misjudges it and spills the ball leaving Palacio an open net and he takes full advantage by rolling it in.
37' Yellow! Shaqiri goes into the book for simulation.
36' Dangerous free kick for the hosts when Guarin brings down Armstrong just outside the box. The chance is wasted though with Griffiths getting underneath it and it's well off target.
32' Celtic go close again. Matthews wins a free kick near the byline after a foul by Palacio and Johansen's free kick is low and hard. Biton gets on the end of it but he can't turn it goalward and it goes wide.
29' A half chance for Celtic as Izaguirre puts an excellent cross in and Griffiths gets up but his header is high and wide.
28' Unsurprisingly the atmosphere at Celtic Park is electric now. The game is very open though and I expect that will suit Inter more.
26' GOAL CELTIC! 2-2! Celtic right back in it now. Matthews takes a throw which is flicked on by Johansen and Armstrong and Campagnaro run towards it. Armstrong got a flick but it looks like an own goal. Remarkable turnaround from the hosts.
24' GOAL CELTIC! 2-1! Very good goal from the hosts. Matthews plays a one two with Johansen to get behind the Inter defence and the Welshman picks out Armstrong in the box and he rolls into the empty goal.
16' Celtic's midfield is completely missing so far and as they try to press high Inter are getting the ball out and getting after an exposed Celtic defence.
13' GOAL! 2-0 INTER! Terrible defending from Celtic again. Inter take a corner to Shaqiri who is outside the box and clips it into the box. Izaguirre tries to clear but it hits Van Dijk and goes into the path of Rodrigo Palacio and the Argentine puts it between Gordon's legs.
11' Van Dijk is sloppy in possession again and gives it to Kuzmanovic who has room but blasts his shot over the bar.
4' GOAL! 1-0 INTER! Disaster for the home side as van Dijk fails to clear a long ball and gives it to Kuzmanovic who lofts a ball into the path of Shaqiri who takes it on the volley with his left foot. The shot looks to be going wide but Gordon makes the save and Shaqiri pounces on the rebound and puts it in to give Mancini's side a dream start.
2' Celtic start on the front foot and MacKay-Steven has the first shot but it's weak and straight at Carrizo.
0' The talking is now over and the game is underway with Inter taking the opening kick off.
20:04. You'll Never Walk Alone is being played over the tannoy as the prematch handshakes get under way. European nights at a packed Celtic Park really are one of the most unique atmospheres in football.
20:02. The players are on their way out and they are being met with a guard of honour from some of the players from that 1967 Final from both Celtic and Inter.
19:58. It is raining quite heavily in Glasgow now as we approach kick off.
19:55. The early games are now over and here are the results: Torino 2-2 Athletic Bilbao; Aalborg 1-3 Club Brugge; Young Boys 1-4 Everton; PSV 0-1 Zenit; Wolfsburg 2-0 Sporting CP; Dnipro 2-0 Olympiakos; Roma 1-1 Feyenoord; Trabzonspor 0-4 Napoli.
19:50. Bertie Auld is out on the pitch now firing up the crowd. Back when these sides met in 1967 Bertie famously started a rendition of the Celtic Song as the teams waited in the tunnel to go out onto the pitch.
19:48. The fans are now being treated to an opera performance of You'll Never Walk Alone. It's not bad but I expect there will be a noisier version in the next ten-fifteen minutes.
19:42. The early games are approaching the last few minutes now and I will bring you the full time results before this game kicks off.
19:35. Celtic's best chance of beating Inter looks to be by taking a cautious approach. In Gary MacKay-Steven, Celtic have a very dangerous player who can hurt an Inter defence that lacks pace. However, if Celtic take the game to Inter, the Italians can take advantage of any spaces left at the back with some fantastic players in attacking areas.
19:33. Inter will be many peoples favourites and rightly so. The players they have are of a higher standard than Celtic's but Celtic have shown in the past that they can take on and beat some of the best teams in Europe at Celtic Park.
19:30. We are now just thirty-five minutes from kick off at Celtic Park and it's time to let me know how you see the game going. Send your opinions to @gjsportsblog on Twitter.
19:25. Celtic will believe they can qualify for next years Champions League by winning the SPL but Inter may look at this competition as their best chance of reaching the lucrative Champions League. They are currently ten points behind Napoli in the third and final Champions League place in Serie A so qualification through their league position looks unlikely.
19:21. The Europa League has been disrespected by some clubs in recent seasons with a lot of players rested for league action. UEFA have addressed that this season with the news that the winners of this seasons competition will qualify for next seasons Champions League.
19:18. Roma 1-1 Feyenoord; Aalborg 0-3 Club Brugge; Dnipro 2-0 Olympiakos; Young Boys 1-4 Everton; Wolfsburg 1-0 Sporting CP; Torino 2-1 Athletic Bilbao; PSV 0-0 Zenit; Trabzonspor 0-3 Napoli.
19:16. Eight Europa League ties got underway at 6pm and are now around the hour mark. Here are the latest scores.
19:12. Celtic line up as expected but Inter have lined up slightly different with Juan Pablo Carrizo and Zdravko Kuzmanovic starting instead of Handanovic and Kovacic.
19:08. Inter - Carrizo; Campagnaro, Ranocchia, Juan Jesus, Santon; Medel, Guarin, Kuzmanovic; Shaqiri; Palacio, Icardi
19:05. Celtic line up as expected. Celtic - Gordon; Matthews, Denayer, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Bitton; Mackay-Steven, Johansen, Armstrong; Griffith
19:02. We should have team news any minute now and I will bring it as soon as I have it.
19:00. Inter's key man: Mauro Icardi – The controversial Argentine celebrates his twenty-second birthday today and after several years of making the headlines for his off the field relationship with the ex-wife of former team mate Maxi Lopez he is finally showing the quality that once attracted Barcelona and Real Madrid. Icardi had a good year at Sampdoria scoring ten times before moving to Inter before last season and scoring nine times. He has improved a lot this season with eighteen goals in all competitions and Celtic will have to be at their best to keep him from adding to that tally tonight.
18:57. Celtic’s key man: Scott Brown – Brown is the captain and leader of Ronnie Deila’s Celtic team and this is exactly the sort of game where he is at his very best. Brown is a tenacious midfielder and leads by example. Nobody will work harder for the team than the Celtic and Scotland captain and what he lacks in technical ability he makes up for in effort and determination.
18:55. Tonight’s game takes place at Celtic Park, Parkhead. Celtic Park has been the home of the hosts since 1892 although the ground received a major facelift in the 1990’s which brought it to the 60,000 all seater stadium it is today. “Paradise” as it is known to the fans has become known throughout Europe for the unique atmosphere on game days and many of Europe’s biggest clubs have fallen here. This game is a sell out and despite having a team full of experienced internationals Internazionale will know that many top sides, including Barcelona, Manchester United and AC Milan have struggled to cope at a packed Celtic Park.
18:53. Obviously at the moment those teams are speculation but rest assured once the line-ups are announced we will bring them to you straight away.
18:50. Mancini has struggled to find his best team since taking over in November. He appears to want to play with wide men but with Podolski unavailable it is thought he may revert to a midfield diamond. Samir Handanovic will start in goal and the back four will most likely be Hugo Campagnaro, Davide Santon, Andrea Ranocchia and Juan Jesus. Gary Medel will be the holding midfielder with Fredy Guarin, Mateo Kovacic and Xherdan Shaqiri ahead of him. Mauro Icardi will start in attack and the most likely partner will be fellow Argentine striker Rodrigo Palacio.
18:46. Inter will be without Lukas Podolski and Marcelo Brozovic who as mentioned earlier are ineligible in this competition. Mancini's concerns do not end there though with Jonathan and Yuto Nagatomo also ruled out and Marco Andreolli and Danilo D'Ambrosio set for late fitness tests before it can be decided whether they will play or not.
18:42. Celtic have been playing a 4-2-3-1 recently with Craig Gordon in goal behind a back four of Adam Matthews, Emilio Izaguirre, Jason Denayer and Virgil van Dijk in defence. Nir Biton and Scott Brown will play in the heart of the midfield with Stuart Armstrong, Gary MacKay-Steven and Stefan Johansen likely to play just ahead of them. The lone striker will either be Leigh Griffiths or John Guidetti. Griffiths looks to be the man in possession of the jersey at present with three goals in his last three starts and looks to have earned the start tonight.
18:39. The hosts will be without Charlie Mulgrew and Mikel Lustig for tonight's game and last year's top scorer Kris Commons also looks likely to miss out with a hamstring injury. Commons recently signed a new contract with Celtic after it initially looked like he may move on in the summer.
18:35. Roberto Mancini knows one member of Celtic's squad well having managed Swedish striker, John Guidetti during his spell at Manchester City and had this to say on him. “I love John because he is a good guy. I want him to score goals and have a lot of success but not against Inter. I hope John does not come back to haunt me but I hope he plays.”
18:30. Celtic manager Ronnie Deila was confident when he met the media yesterday. "I've had many big games and this is probably the biggest challenge. We go into the match with a lot of confidence. We have an exciting squad with young players and these matches are important to improve and show what level you are at. I have a good feeling, we have good togetherness and we are looking forward to the game.”
18:28. Inter have also made several signings to improve their squad in January with the additions of Lukas Podolski, Xherdan Shaqiri, Davide Santon and Marcelo Brozovic. Fortunately for Celtic though, Podolski and Brozovic are unavailable for European competition and only Santon and Shaqiri are eligible for selection.
18:27. Since the group stages Celtic have improved their squad with the signings of Stuart Armstrong and Gary MacKay-Steven from Dundee United. Both will be expected to start in the midfield. The Scots have also added on loan striker John Guidetti to their Europa League squad. The Swede who is on loan from Manchester City was signed to late to be registered for the group stages but he will now be available for selection.
18:26. Mancini hasn't made as big an impact at Inter and in sixteen games since his return Milan have only managed to win six games with just four of those coming in Serie A. In his defence he has only been back at the club for three months and it may take until next year before he can turn things around.
18:24. Deila got off to a poor start in charge of Celtic by failing to make the Champions League group stages but he is slowly winning support over with his team playing fast, attacking football. It took a while for the manager to get his players playing the way he wanted but it seems like everyone is on the same page now and some of Celtic's recent performances have been a joy to watch.
18:22. Both sides have changed their manager this season with Ronnie Deila replacing Neil Lennon in the summer for Celtic and Roberto Mancini returning for his second stint as manger of the Nerazzurri in November replacing Walter Mazzarri.
18:20. Internazionale did get revenge five years later when the teams met in the semi-finals of the European Cup. After two 0-0 draws the tie went to penalties and the legendary Dixie Deans missed for Celtic which saw Inter into the 1972 Final where they lost 2-0 to a Johan Cruyff inspired Ajax.
18:18. Celtic - Inter Milan cannot be talked about without mention of the greatest day in the history of Celtic Football Club when Jock Stein's side beat Inter 2-1 in the Final of the 1967 European Cup in Lisbon. Goals from Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers saw the Lisbon Lions come back from a goal behind to become the first northern European winners of the European Cup.
18:15. Inter have won their last two games (3-0 at home to Palermo and 4-1 away to Atlanta) after a run of three defeats in a row. The jury is still very much out on Roberto Mancini's second spell in charge at the Guiseppe Meazza.
18:12. Celtic come into this game on a run of eight wins in a row in all competitions. Their last defeat came on the 21st of December at Tannadice when Dundee United won 2-1.
18:10. Inter are having a tough season meanwhile in Serie A, currently sitting in tenth position. They were eliminated in the Coppa Italia quarter-finals by Napoli, and will be hoping for respite from a rather disappointing league campaign with Europa League success.
18:09. Celtic are having a good season domestically and currently sit top of the SPL, three points clear of Aberdeen with a game in hand. They are also into the final of the League Cup and quarter-final of the Scottish Cup; meeting Dundee United in both tournaments.
18:07. Inter Milan have enjoyed a more straight forward path to this stage and their campaign did not start until the final qualifying round in late August. A comfortable 9-0 aggregate win over Stjarnan of Iceland saw Inter into the group stages alongside Saint Etienne, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Qarabag. Home and away wins over Dnipro, two draws with Saint Etienne and a win and a draw against Qarabag were enough to see the Italian side top Group F and set up a trip to Glasgow.
18:04. Celtic have had a real roller coaster ride to get this far with their European campaign beginning in the Champions League back in July. They managed to beat KR Reykjavik of Iceland before losing to Legia Warsaw but due to an administrative error by the Poles they were awarded a 3-0 second leg win which saw them through to take on Maribor in the final qualifying round. Unfortunately for “the hoops” they were beaten 2-1 over two legs which meant they went into the group stages of the Europa League where they were paired with FC Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb and Astra Giurgiu. Home wins over Astra and Zagreb along with points away to Salzburg and Astra were enough to see Celtic finish second in the group behind FC Salzburg and reach the last thirty-two.
18:00. Welcome to VAVEL's live coverage of tonight's UEFA Europa League last thirty-two clash between Celtic and Internazionale. My name's Gerry Johnston and I'll be taking you through all of the action at Celtic Park, Glasgow.