Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor admits playing against Neymar was infuriating.
The mouthy Brazilian squared off against Neil Lennon’s Hoops in Paris on Tuesday, in a 4-0 win for his PSG side.
Neymar only played 45 minutes of the Parc des Princes clash, but set up one goal and scored another in the rout.
The former Barcelona man was at the centre of a couple of flash points, despite the game being a friendly, and was regularly found showing off by using tricks and flicks.
And while Hoops stand-in skipper McGregor praised the 28-year-old’s talent, he also admitted it was hard to watch him have some fun.
“Is it infuriating? Of course it is,” the Scotland man told the Daily Record.
“You’re professional and you like to respect part of the game.
“You don’t like people taking the mickey out of you. But you have to respect the talent and try to get the ball back off him.
“You have to respect the quality but not respect him to the point of standing off him and letting him do his thing.
“We had a couple of nibbles at him but he seemed to take it and come back for more.
“That’s why he is a top, top player. He was even laughing at one point.”
Neymar hasn’t always excelled against Celtic
Neymar is a frustrating little fella. He is a wind-up merchant by nature, but has the ability to back it up.
That’s why playing against him is such a pain. If you stand off him he’ll take the mickey, and if you get too close then he’ll just take it past you.
The Brazilian has harmed us many a time, for both Barca and PSG, but his first meeting with us was arguably the quietest he’s been.
That performance in a narrow 1-0 Barca win in Glasgow in 2013 was an example of Celtic being able to keep him relatively quiet.
If we meet him again, then that’s the blueprint we should follow to try and nullify him.
But I can’t be the only Celtic fan who’s more than a bit glad we don’t have to face him every week.
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