Celtic edged their way into the final 16 of the Champions League when they beat Spartak Moscow 2-1 at Parkhead.

The Scottish champions' triumph came as group rivals Benfica could manage only a 0-0 draw against Barcelona in the Nou Camp, leaving Celtic two points ahead in second place in the qualifying group.

Their decisive goal came in the closing stages when Giorgios Samaras won a soft penalty and Kris Commons smashed the spot kick home off the crossbar.

Neil Lennon was unable to watch the moment. He had previously said victory could be the highlight of his managerial career, and relied on the roars from the crowd to tell him the good news.

Watching from the stands again were Rod Stewart, who famously burst into tears when Celtic defeated Barcelona last month, racing driver Dario Franchitti and his actress wife Ashley Judd, and Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish.

Gary Hooper had given Celtic the lead in the first half, but Ari equalised for Spartak, leaving a packed Parkead to endure a nervous second half.

Former Celtic favourite Aiden McGeady appeared on his old turf as a second-half substitute.

The fans - and Lennon - had more than half an eye on the result in the Nou Camp, where Barcelona fielded an under-strength team and brought on talisman Lionel Messi only after the break. But it finished 0-0.

Lennon later hailed a "monumental achievement" by his side after they reached the knockout stages of the Champions League.

"It means a hell of a lot to the club," Lennon said. "It is a monumental achievement on our behalf.

"For the whole club to be at the big table in the new year is a phenomenal effort. To get 10 points is a phenomenal effort.

"I thought we did not play well in the first half, got a break with the goal and then we were slack for their goal. But second half we were a lot better, created good chances; we had to go for it and thankfully it came through for us."

Asked if it was the high point of his career, Lennon added: "Yeah, this is the premier event, the toughest of the tough. No-one gave us a prayer going into this group."

Hooper, who opened the scoring in the first half, added: "It's a dream come true. The performance was great and we defended better in the second half."

Asked how far Celtic can go in the competition, Hooper added: "You never know. At home we can beat anyone - we showed that against Barca and tonight. We have to take it game by game."

Celtic's possible opponents in the last 16 include Manchester United, Juventus, the German trio of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Schalke, Paris St Germain, and Malaga. 

The draw is on 20 December, and the games are due to be played on February 12-13 and 19-20 February next year, with the second legs on March 5-6 and 12-13.

The former Hoops skipper joked: "I would take Malaga - it would be nice this time of the year over there".

The Parkhead men had to fight their way through two qualifying rounds and were then unfancied when drawn alongside the Russian club, Benfica and Barcelona and Lennon was referring to that scepticism when he said: "It means the world to me as a young manager in my first year in the Champions League to qualify with 10 points, I am very proud of the players, they have performed a miracle.

"People laughed at me when I said at the start that my target was to qualify. No one gave us a prayer going into this group but we have qualified and deservedly so. I think you could see the players progressing last year.

"We have some really talented players who I felt could play at European level. I didn't want them just to be remembered for beating Barcelona but we have beaten Barcelona and qualified for the last 16 and that is a fantastic feather to have in your cap."

He then said: "Seriously, it is going to be really tough, against the top teams in the groups. You just don't know what shape teams are going to be in two or three months' time. But we are there, we are going to enjoy it and we want to progress as far as we can in the competition.

"Who knows where it can take you? The spirit is fantastic, we have some quality players, they have put everything into the group and they have grown as the campaign has gone on and some of them have enhanced their reputations no end.

Lennon admitted he could not bear to watch Commons to take the crucial spot-kick.

"I didn't watch it, I turned my back on it," said the Northern Irishman. "I'd seen the last couple of penalties and we missed them.

"I saw Gary Parker (coach) turn his back and so I thought I would wait until the roar goes up.

"Kris showed great mental strength to take it, I'm sure he was aware of the significance of the penalty but I thought he had a fantastic game."

Spartak caretaker coach Valery Karpin "didn't want to talk about the referee" with regards to Celtic's penalty, however, he was mostly magnanimous in defeat.

He said: "I would like to congratulate Celtic, they deserved it because they have had a very good Champions League campaign. The referee blew his whistle for a penalty so it was a penalty.

"The first half was the probably the best we have played in a long time, so it is disappointing to lose matches when you play well.

"In the second half the three midfielders who were supporting the striker were not so influential.

"But I cannot blame any of our players, I have to thank them and the fans who came to Glasgow to support us when the game did not mean anything to us."