BUT HE’S NEY THAT EASY TO CATCH!

Callum hopes Celtic can get another shot at Brazilian nemesis in Champions League

CALLUM McGREGOR admits it was sore watching Neymar sniggering and swaggering his way to yet another win against Celtic.

But the Hoops ace still insists they can finally have the last laugh if they get another shot at the sneering Samba star in the Champions League.

You’d think Neymar would be the last person the Hoops squad would want to see again after suffering more punishment at the hands of the PSG striker.

The £200million man took the mickey in Paris the other night with his eighth goal in seven games against the Parkhead men – and his ninth assist with his sublime ball for Kylian Mbappe’s opener in the 4-0 defeat.

But it was the rest of his antics that had McGregor and Co pulling out their hair as the Brazilian broke open his familiar box of dirty tricks.

Boss Neil Lennon admitted his men did well to keep the head and not put the boot in as

BY MICHAEL GANNON m.gannon@dailyrecord.co.uk

Neymar made it 32-2 in aggregate wins across his seven clashes with Celtic. But McGregor would love the chance to get one over the wind-up merchant.

He said: “We keep saying we owe him one before the games!

“But he’s that good that if you don’t switch on he punishes you in the first minute like he did on Tuesday night. He played an unbelievable ball into Mbappe to score the opener.

“So you can say, ‘Get close to him next time’ but it’s not that easy. It’s a learning curve for the players as well.

“Hopefully we will get back there to the Champions League and have a second crack at it.”

McGregor could be forgiven for never wanting to see Neymar again. The Brazilian was pulling out backheels and Rabonas the other night, as well as having nibbles at Hoops men and a bawling match with Lennon.

It’s no laughing matter when you’re on the end of it. McGregor said: “Is it infuriating? Of course it is. You’re professional and you like the 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.

“His job is to score and you’re always going to get things like that in football. He’s a world-class talent and it’s very hard to get close to him.

“He manipulates the ball so well but if you have a kick at him he doesn’t like it. But it’s not personal. It’s my job to win the ball back and sometimes you mistime a tackle but if you stand off then top players will hurt you.

“You have to respect the quality but not respect him to the point of standing off him and letting him do his thing.

“He’s just a top talent, whether you love him or hate him. There are a lot of tussles in the game and that’s just part and parcel of football.”

Going down 4-0 to a side that cost £650m was no disgrace and Celtic had their moments in the Parc de Princes. Rather than