Classic Celtic Matches | Boavista 0-1 Celtic | Larsson's goal sends the Celts to Seville! (24/04/03)

Henrik Larsson scored 242 goals in 315 appearances for Celtic over a seven-year period at the club. There were many great goals and significant strikes within that impressive tally which makes him the third top goalscorer in Celtic's history. And one of the most important came 20 years ago, on April 24, 2003, in the Estádio do Bessa XXI, home of Portuguese side, Boavista. It was the second leg of the UEFA Cup semi-final, with the tie finely balanced after a 1-1 draw in the first leg at Celtic Park. Larsson had scored early in the second half that night almost immediately after Boavista had taken the lead courtesy of a Joos Valgaeren own goal, but with the away goal advantage, the Portuguese side were confident of reaching the final, where they were hoping to face their city rivals, Porto. It was a tense night in Portugal, with the tie being decided in the 78th minute of the match. The ball was played forward to Chris Sutton who knocked it inside to Larsson. The Super Swede drove forward and slotted a ball through the inside right channel for John Hartson in the area. He was challenged by a couple of Boavista defenders, with the ball rolling back into the path of Larsson, and from 12 yards out, he quickly slipped the ball from right foot to left and clipped the ball over the goalkeeper, who managed to get a hand on it but couldn't keep the ball out of the net. The goal sparked scenes of celebration in the stadium, both amongst the players and also the supporters, but also around the world as Celtic fans watched the match. And they all had to endure a tortuous 12 minutes before the Belgian referee blew for full-time. Celtic were in the 2003 UEFA Cup final, to play Porto in Seville. Speaking to the Celtic View after that game in 2003, Henrik Larsson said: "When I tried to thread the ball through to John, I though he was in. Then I saw the guy coming in with the sliding tackle so I thought to myself I’d take a position where the ball might end up and it came straight to my feet. "I took a touch, then over my shoulder I saw their right-back closing in on me so I tried to concentrate on getting something on the ball. There wasn’t very much pace on it but I got enough to get it into the net. 'This is massive. I woke up on Friday morning with a big smile on my face and it is such a tremendous feeling.' "I can only speak about the years that I have been here and in those seasons we haven't really performed all that well in Europe, with the exception of last season, so it is great to reach the UEFA Cup final but we can't be satisfied with that. "Now we want to do something on the day, but we don't need to be told that it will be very difficult because Porto are an excellent team. Without a doubt, though, Thursday's goal was definitely the most important of my career - so far!" Here's a chance to relive that magic moment from April 24, 2003, when the King of Kings fired Celtic into their first European final in 33 years... 🍀Subscribe today to the official YouTube of the world’s first Quadruple Treble winners, Celtic Football Club: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_c... 📽️ Plus, you can watch exclusive player and manager interviews, full-match replays and go behind the scenes of Celtic FC ONLY on Celtic TV. Subscribe today! https://www.celticfc.tv/ Connect with Celtic Football Club ⤵️ Website: http://www.celticfc.com/ Facebook:   / celticfc   Twitter:   / celticfc   Instagram:   / celticfc   TikTok:   / celticfc   GIPHY: https://giphy.com/celticfc Snapchat:   / celticfc