JOLLY ROGERS
Aston Villa 4 Celtic 2: Prince William goes through rollercoaster of emotions as Morgan Rogers bags stunning hat-trick
Royal super-fan shared tension, drama and finally joy as his heroes sneaked into the top eight spots
THIS was a night Ollie Watkins will never forget as he took centre stage before kick-off — and was the main attraction for most of a thrilling evening.
Striker Watkins hit his first-ever Champions League goal hours after it emerged he was the subject of a £60million bid from boyhood club and Prem rivals Arsenal.
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Clearly, the Aston Villa star would have known all about the big-money offer before Monday’s transfer deadline — but it certainly did not look as if it affected him.
He finally put Celtic to the sword on the hour following the Scots’ heroic fightback from 2-0 down after just five minutes. Watkins’ goal was worthy of winning a tie of this calibre — quick, with brilliant teamwork, culminating in a clinical finish.
Morgan Rogers, outstanding all night, rolled Liam Scales in the middle of the park and played in sub John McGinn.
The little dynamo shrugged off Arne Engels and went scampering deep into Celtic territory before releasing Jacob Ramsey on the right.
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He swept the ball across the face of goal and there was Watkins lurking like the predator he is to slam it past Kasper Schmeichel. The fact he then patted the Villa badge on his chest will be taken as proof by fans that Arsenal can forget about landing their transfer target.
But he was not finished there.
Three minutes later, Schmeichel fluffed a clearance to McGinn, who fed Watkins with the goal at his mercy.
But despite getting his shot on target, he was denied by a fabulous save from Schmeichel.
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Who faces who in the Champions League?
Here's a look at the ties across the competition...
Teams who finished from ninth to 24th in the Champions League league phase will play off to decide who reaches the last-16.
PLAYOFF ROUND
Atalanta vs Sporting Lisbon or Club Brugge
Borussia Dortmund vs Sporting Lisbon or Club Brugge
Real Madrid vs Celtic or Man City
Bayern Munich vs Celtic or Man City
AC Milan vs Feyenoord or Juventus
PSV vs Feyenoord or Juventus
PSG vs AS Monaco or Brest
Benfica vs AS Monaco or Brest
Winners of playoff ties will then face the teams who finished in the top eight of the league phase in the last-16...
LAST 16
Liverpool vs PSG/Benfica/AS Monaco/Brest
Barcelona vs PSG/Benfica/AS Monaco/Brest
Arsenal vs AC Milan/PSV Eindhoven/Feyenoord/Juventus
Inter Milan vs AC Milan/PSV Eindhoven/Feyenoord/Juventus
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid/Bayern Munich/Celtic/Man City
Bayer Leverkusen vs Real Madrid/Bayern Munich/Celtic/Man City
Lille vs Atalanta/Borussia Dortmund/Sporting Lisbon/Club Brugge
Aston Villa vs Atalanta/Borussia Dortmund/Sporting Lisbon/Club Brugge
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Then, with Celtic on the ropes, Watkins was given the chance to finally finish them off one minute later — from the penalty spot.
Auston Trusty slid in to try to dispossess Watkins, who toppled to the turf. French ref Clement Turpin pointed to the spot to Celtic’s disgust.
Aston Villa to build Premier League's largest beer hall as they announce stunning redevelopment plans next to stadium
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VAR agreed with the ref and Watkins stepped up to . . . take the worst penalty of his career!
Incredibly, he slipped just before making contact and the ball came off his right boot, on to his standing left foot and flew high over the bar into the Holte End.
But Watkins finally put this incredible tie to bed a minute into stoppage time to set up Rogers for a sensational, never-to-be-forgotten hat-trick.
Watkins chased down 21-year-old Celtic kid Dane Murray and rounded Schmeichel before letting Rogers complete his stunning treble.
For once, Celtic had no response — and the biggest roar of the night came as the players headed to the tunnel when it was confirmed Villa had made it into the top eight to reach the last 16 of the competition.
But, boy, were they made to work for it on a rollercoaster of a night.
This was Brendan Rodgers’ 100th European tie as a manager. But rarely will his emotions have gone through the wringer as they were here.
When the dust had settled, these famous clubs — both former champions of Europe — had added another thrilling chapter to their histories.
Rodgers and Villa boss Unai Emery had both made a point in their pre-match press conferences of saying they did not want a basketball match — with play raging from end to end.
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Yet their players clearly never got the memo because that is precisely what they served up for 90 gut-churning, heart-pumping minutes in front of a frenzied full house.
It took just three minutes for the mayhem to begin as Villa stormed ahead with the first proper attack of the game.
Ramsey worked a brilliant one-two with Youri Tielemans, who got round the back of Alistair Johnson and pulled it back for Rogers to rifle in his first Champions League goal.
Then, 33 seconds after the restart, Rogers helped himself to another with a cracking shot which flew past Schmeichel with the help of a deflection off Scales.
Celtic had buckled in embarrassing fashion as Rogers became the first player in Champions League history to score twice in the opening five minutes of a game. But the Hoops roared back to draw level before half-time thanks to a rapid double from Adam Idah.
He pulled one back after 36 minutes when Greg Taylor ran off Leon Bailey to centre the ball.
McGinn slid in to try to intercept but only knocked the ball into the path of Idah, who twisted his body brilliantly to apply a stunning finish. Three minutes later, the former Norwich man sent Celtic’s travelling support wild when he equalised.
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Engels produced a fabulous backheel to Reo Hatate, who drilled the ball across the face of goal to Idah who slammed it beyond Emi Martinez.
Yet Villa regrouped at the break and were dominant in the second half to seize their place in the last 16.
Rogers beamed: “Definitely the highlight of my career so far. It’s a crazy experience and a crazy game to be a part of. It’s a massive achievement and we should be proud of ourselves.
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“We had to dig deep, we know we can, we do it in the Premier League every week.”
Bhoys boss Rodgers said: “The word that screams at me is pride. Spirit was absolutely key.”
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New Champions League format is a snorefest
By Dan King
UEFA sold the idea of expanding the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams, with each playing eight games instead of six in the opening phase, as a way of creating more competitiveness and excitement.
The biggest clubs would have two matches against their peers, rather than having to wait until the knockout stage to meet.
The smaller clubs would meet teams of a similar level twice and have a chance of tasting victory that was so hard to achieve if you were the bottom seed in a group of four.
Ignoring for a moment the fact that the real motivation was the simple equation of more games = more money, the theory itself already looks flawed.
None of the matches between European giants has delivered a compelling contest yet.
And why would they? At the start of the long season with more matches in it, why would any team with ambitions to win things in the spring, go out all guns blazing in the autumn?
Especially when they know they have six games NOT against big sides to make sure they accrue enough points to qualify at least for the play-off round (and even more games).
There is even less jeopardy than before.
Read the full column on the Champions League format fail and why everyone - including YOU - needs a rethink.