Lennon relishing Juventus challenge

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is savouring the prospect of another two classic encounters against Juventus after being paired with the Italian champions and Serie A leaders in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Lennon was a Celtic player when the teams last met, in the 2001-02 group stages, in dramatic circumstances. Celtic came from two goals down in Turin, thanks to strikes from Stiliyan Petrov and Henrik Larsson, only to lose 3-2 after Nicola Amoruso dived to win a dubious late penalty, which saw manager Martin O’Neill sent to the stand for his protests.

Celtic, inspired by Slovakian playmaker Lubo Moravcik, gained revenge with a 4-3 victory at Parkhead in the final group game with Chris Sutton hitting a double, but it was not enough to see them into the last 16.