Celtic manager Gordon Strachan said his side's victory over Manchester United that sent them to the Champions League first knock-out stage looks unbelievable. "I can't believe it, I will have to double check in the morning just to make sure," Strachan told BBC Scotland after Tuesday's 1-0 victory. "It's just a relief that we are through to the next round and we are quite tired and emotional now. "We didn't get to grips with the ball in the first half but we didn't give away too many chances," added the former Manchester United man. United looked on course of getting the point need to advance to the next round but a piece of magic from Japanese international Shunsuke Nakamura gave the home side a memorable victory. He stepped up to curl a wicked free-kick into the top corner to beat United keeper Edwin van der Sar, a carbon copy of his effort during the 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford in the first game. "He (Nakamura) is as good as anyone in the world right now but to be honest this has all been down to the players," Strachan said.
Celtic split the summit with United on nine points each as Benfica are still chasing for a spot in the knock-out stage with seven points in their account. The result sent Celtic to the round of 16 regardless of the result of their last group match against Copenhagen as they edged United in the head-to-head record. The victory almost slipped away deep into the injury time when the visitors were awarded a spot-kick. But Poland keeper Artur Boruc stepped into the limelight to deny Luis Saha's powerful penalty as emotions ran high at Celtic park. Celtic captain Neil Lennon was booked for protest over the penalty but credited both Nakamura and Boruc as heroes of the night after the final whistle. "Shunsuke's free-kick was world-class, he's right up there with the best in the world for his free-kicks. This means everything to me," Lennon said. "We've got to thank the goalkeeper for saving the penalty. We were livid because over the years we've not had the breaks and that was a crazy decision but thankfully Artur saved it."
