Billionaires Paris Saint-Germain were the only show in town on Tuesday night when they dismantled Celtic in Glasgow, inflicting the clubs heaviest ever home defeat in Europe.
Neymar, M’bappe and Cavani (2) were all on the score sheet as the hoops found themselves unable to keep up with the mega rich club.
The other goal came from a Mikael Lustig own goal which rounded off a miserable night for the hoops. Here are my three takeaways from the game.
Ralston held his own
For all the negativity coming out of tonight’s game there was some things that Celtic fans can feel optimistic about.
Anthony Ralston an 18 year old academy product, made his European debut for the Celts. While this is something that every academy player dreams about, the young Scot had the misfortune of being matched up with the worlds most expensive ever player in Neymar.
This however, did not deter young Ralston who showed the heart and desire that every hoops fan loves to see. From the get go he was eager to let the little Brazilian magician know that he was not in for an easy night. Ralston was a spectator for a lot of the game as were most of the Celtic players when PSG had possesion. Although, when the need for a crunching tackles arose, Ralston was happy to oblige.
Tackles and battles began to annoy Neymar who was clearly agitated by the right back. This was clear for all to see after the final whistle in a display of poor form in which the Brazilian refused to shake the kid’s hand.
A solid European debut for the young man which is bizarre to think considering the scoreline.
Rogic should have started the game
Not that it would have made too much of a difference but in my opinion Tom Rogic should have been one of the first names on the team sheet.
Brendan Rodgers elected instead to go with Stuart Armstrong in the attacking midfield role. While I can understand Rodgers’ reasoning for the starting Armstrong as many believe he offers more defensively than Rogic, the fact remains that big Tom is one of the only players we have that has the creativity to score or set up a goal when we need it most. (last years Scottish cup and league cup finals spring to mind)
Rodgers seemingly realized his mistake as he hooked the anonymous Armstrong at half time for the Australian. It will be interesting to see who of the pair gets the nod on Saturday when the hoops take on Ross County.
PSG are incredible
We can all whine and moan about how the game played out and the theatrics of some of the star players however, in the next few days when the red mist has cleared and the anger has quelled I think even the staunchest Celtic fan will admit that Paris Saint-Germain were nothing short of phenomenal.
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Their intricate passing and clinical finishing would have been a joy to watch had my team not been on the receiving end. That being said I have a feeling that we are not the only team who will fall to a heavy defeat to the French side but merely the first.