STUBBS DEFENDS RALSTON AFTER FRENCH PUT BOOT IN
IN refusing to shake his hand at full-time, Neymar made clear his disdain for young Anthony Ralston. But it was not just the world’s most expensive footballer who was left unimpressed by Celtic’s Champions League debutant. The compiler of man-by-man ratings for the esteemed French sports newspaper
L’Equipe awarded the 18-year-old just two out of ten after the Scottish champions lost 5-0 to Paris Saint-Germain. It was a miserly mark shared only by midfielder Stuart Armstrong, who was hooked at half-time as Celtic slumped to their heaviest-ever home European defeat. For Alan Stubbs, though, there were plenty of positives about Ralston’s dogged display against Neymar. And even in the teenager laughing in his opponent’s face in a gallus attempt to unsettle the Brazilian superstar. ‘It was a tough first half for Anthony Ralston but I felt he acquitted himself really well,’ said the former Celtic and Everton defender. ‘He’s just 18 and he has come up against probably the best player in the world at this moment. That’s a pretty daunting task for anyone. But he was not found wanting. He stuck at it. ‘He tried to affect Neymar and put him off his game. You have to commend him for that. Some young boys might have thought: “This is the best player in the world” and become frightened and gone into their shell. ‘But I thought Anthony grew into the game. He had a couple of really good challenges and he will only improve after this experience. ‘The very fact that Brendan Rodgers has thrown him in to start against PSG shows what his manager thinks of him. ‘I’m sure he has a really bright
future ahead of him. He certainly shouldn’t be judged on Tuesday night. Neymar has done that to quite a few top-class full-backs before.’ Such was PSG’s total dominance in Glasgow that Stubbs believes Celtic could have fielded four extra defenders and still been crushed by the sharp and stylish Parisians. The former Hibs boss rates PSG’s front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani as the best in the world, describing the latter’s headed goal to make it 5-0 as simply ‘astonishing’. The French side gave possibly the finest display Stubbs has ever seen from an away team at Celtic Park and he insists the filleting must be viewed in that context. ‘I’ve had the privilege of taking part in some great nights at Celtic Park and also of watching some great teams play there,’ added Stubbs. ‘But Tuesday night was possibly the best performance I’ve seen from anyone there. It was that impressive. ‘And PSG will do that to other teams as well. There’s no doubt about that because they’re only going to get better. ‘We’ve talked for years about (Lionel) Messi, (Luis) Suarez and Neymar at Barcelona. But Neymar, Cavani and Mbappe is the next strike force. ‘It was Celtic’s worst-ever home defeat but it was a top-notch performance from PSG. They were everything we feared they might be but hoped that they wouldn’t be. ‘They were breathtaking at times. Not just their movement but their decision-making and their first touches. It was football played at a different level.’