Celtic scored after 57 seconds, but otherwise it was a night to forget for the Scottish champions as Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe went to town. 9.38pm GMT A wonderful opening 57 seconds for Celtic. The other 89 minutes and three seconds . not so much. Celtic were poor defensively tonight, with many a mistake littering their performance. But then again, they’re playing the favourites for this year’s Champions League, a team who have tonight broken the record for goals scored in the group stage. Neymar, Mbappe, Cavani . they were sensational tonight. What can you do? 9.35pm GMT 90 min: Pastore and Di Maria combine down the inside right. The latter forces the ball through for the former, who spins to snap a shot goalwards from a tight angle. It’s blocked easily enough. Another 120 seconds and this is all over for Celtic. 9.34pm GMT 89 min: For the first time tonight, the clock is Celtic’s friend. PSG are stroking it around in the middle of the park, just waiting for their shift to end. 9.32pm GMT 87 min: Forrest goes on a George Best ramble, right to left, across the face of the PSG box. He has a shot but it’s blocked the second it leaves his boot. It’s not much, but it’s something. 9.30pm GMT 85 min: Neymar seriously threatens to break clear into the Celtic box down the left. Bitton does very well indeed to hold him up. 9.29pm GMT 83 min: Some snappy tackling from Brown in the middle of the park, and Celtic are sent scampering upfield. Rogic has a dig from the edge of the box. It’s deflected out for a corner on the right. Griffiths takes; Areloa plucks from the sky and sends PSG on the attack. Di Maria has a look at goal from the best part of 35 yards. Nope! 9.27pm GMT 82 min: Celtic have imploded. It should be eight, as Cavani and Neymar make good down the inside left. The ball breaks to Lo Celso on the edge of the box. He fires low and hard towards the bottom right. Gordon does extremely well to tip the ball round the post for a corner. 9.26pm GMT Aye, a rout all right. Cavani nearly works space to shoot amid a penalty box melee. No matter. The ball isn’t cleared. Dani Alves picks up possession 20 yards out on the right. A short backlift, and then he sends a rising heatseeker into the top left. 9.25pm GMT What a belter this is! Kurzawa romps into acres down the left. He loops a cross towards the far post. Cavani meets the dropping ball with a volley that rasps across Gordon, off the left-hand post, and into the net. This is now a rout. 9.23pm GMT 77 min: It’s fair to say that goal had been coming, albeit at testimonial pace. It’s met with a series of changes: PSG send on Angel Di Maria and Giovani Lo Celso, allowing Mbappe and Verratti to exit on a high; Celtic swap Dembele for Leigh Griffiths. 9.22pm GMT Mbappe tears past Tierney down the right. He reaches the byline and pulls the ball back. Brown and Boyata get in each other’s way on the penalty spot, and tee it up for Verratti, who threads a low diagonal shot into the bottom left. 9.19pm GMT 73 min: Neymar has woken up all right. He turns on the jets to burst down the left, and enters the area. No space to shoot, so he squares for Mbappe, who takes a touch on the penalty spot and shoots. But he doesn’t get enough purchase on the ball, and the danger is gone. 9.17pm GMT 72 min: Bedlam in the Celtic box. From a thicket of players, Neymar tries to dribble his way out, left to right, and fashion a chance for his hat-trick goal. But Forrest and Tierney combine to close him down, and the ball is cleared. 9.16pm GMT 71 min: See 68 min. 9.14pm GMT 69 min: Celtic make their second change of the night. Ntcham is replaced by Kouassi Eboue. 9.13pm GMT 68 min: PSG probe and pass, pass and probe. Celtic are doing an awful lot of chasing down. They can’t get out of their final third, but at least they’re not giving up chances right now. 9.12pm GMT 66 min: Draxler is replaced by PSG’s former No10, Javier Pastore. 9.11pm GMT 65 min: Rabiot burns past Brown in the midfield, as though the Celtic captain wasn’t there. He rolls a pass down the right for Mbappe, who looks to tee up Neymar in the middle with a low cross. But there’s too much juice on the pass, and Neymar isn’t able to meet it and shoot. He hustles and earns a corner, but nothing comes of that. 9.08pm GMT 63 min: Anderlecht have equalised against Bayern Munich. In terms of the race for third place, Celtic are still in the box seat going into the last round of matches. But PSG are now poised to win the group tonight. 9.07pm GMT 61 min: Celtic faff around at the back. Gordon kicks out, straight at the nearby Dani Alves. The ball breaks to Cavani, on the right-hand edge of the six-yard box. Cavani blasts over, when he really should score, albeit from a tight angle. 9.06pm GMT 60 min: Paris pen Celtic back in their own area, and eventually earn a corner on the right. Neymar takes. Marquinhos heads harmlessly over the bar. 9.05pm GMT 58 min: Mbappe has a belt from the edge of the box. It squirts wide left. Rabiot surges down the left and nearly bursts clear into the box. Boyata makes a meal of clearing. Then some more poor defending from the increasingly poor Boyata, allowing Cavani to lash a dipper just over the bar from distance. 9.02pm GMT 56 min: Brown, out on the right, curls a delightful ball in from the right. Dembele takes up possession, drops a shoulder to get some space by Dani Alves, then slams a shot into the side netting. Could have done better with the shot, but full marks for making space and time in the first place. 9.01pm GMT 55 min: Rabiot slips a pass down the left wing to spring Neymar. But there’s a little too much pace on the ball, and though Neymar keeps the ball in play, just, he can only stop it on the byline and watch in horror as Boyata makes off with it. Celtic nearly undone again. 8.59pm GMT 53 min: A little more space for Tierney down the left. If he’d looked up, he’d have spotted Dembele off the shoulder of Marquinhos and begging for a through ball down the channel. But the young Celtic wing back didn’t look up. 8.57pm GMT 52 min: Bayern Munich have taken the lead at Anderlecht, incidentally. That’s good news for Celtic, in their quest to stay ahead of the Belgians in the race for third spot in Group B and a place in the Europa League. 8.55pm GMT 50 min: And now Forrest has a gambol down the right. He manages to work just enough space to shoot, just inside the box, though his effort is blocked pretty much at source. 8.55pm GMT 49 min: Space for Tierney down the Celtic left. He curls a dangerous ball into the centre, where Dembele lurks, but Marquinhos slides in to hook clear. 8.53pm GMT 47 min: Neymar sprays a ball down the inside-left channel. Boyata should cover, but is easily pushed off the ball by Kurzawa. The PSG left back is one on one with Gordon, but he loses control of his feet, and then the ball. Boyata and Gordon take the opportunity to clear up. That was awful defending by Boyata, who has been very unconvincing tonight. 8.51pm GMT 46 min: Dembele stands on the toes of Verratti, who goes down and rolls around in pain for a bit. He’s up again after a brief pause in play. The second half starts again. 8.50pm GMT Here we go, then, the second half! Celtic get the ball rolling for a half of damage limitation. There have been no half-time changes. 8.36pm GMT Half-time listening:Episode 6: Dalglish's @LFC 1985-91, plus Sportnight and the Soccer Six on @ApplePodcasts https://t.co/v9zNrWqAUA 8.34pm GMT What a sensational first 57 seconds for Celtic. What a sensational front three PSG possess. 8.34pm GMT 45 min +1: In the first of two added minutes, Dembele dribbles into the PSG box down the right. He goes over and claims a penalty kick. He’s not getting it. Then Neymar goes off down the left, and is hauled back by Bitton, who is booked. Free kick that comes to nothing. 8.31pm GMT 44 min: Some Parisian noodling in the midfield. Celtic won’t mind this. 8.30pm GMT 42 min: From the corner, assorted scrambles take place in the Celtic box. Neymar chips down the inside-left channel to send Thiago Silva free. The offside flag goes up. Celtic breathe again. 8.28pm GMT 41 min: Full time can’t come soon enough, the way things are going. Neymar, deep on the left, caresses a delicious diagonal looping pass towards Mbappe, racing down the channel on the right. Mbappe enters the area and blooters goalwards. Gordon does exceptionally well to palm the ball round the post. 8.27pm GMT 40 min: Boyata, in attempting to clear a bouncing ball, takes a swing and a fresh-air shot. He gets away with it. But Celtic’s heads have gone. Half time can’t come soon enough. 8.26pm GMT 39 min: Celtic can’t get a touch now. They’re in proper Shouldn’t Have Made Them Angry territory. 8.25pm GMT 37 min: Neymar, Cavani, Mbappe. Not a bad front line, huh? “Celtic shouldn’t lose heart. Keep testing the keeper. Areola looks like he’s got a boob in him.” Ladies and gentlemen, this low-hanging fruit has been selected, picked, peeled and served up for you by Mr Matt Dony. 8.23pm GMT The ball’s sent into the box. The ball drops to Marquinhos, level with the left-hand post, 12 yards out. He’s drawn the entire Celtic defence! Preposterous! All he has to do is square the ball for Mbappe, standing 12 yards out, level with the right-hand post. Mbappe takes a touch and guides it past Gordon and into the top left. Gordon got a hand to it, trying his best to get his entire defence out of jail, but it wasn’t enough. 8.22pm GMT 35 min: Simunovic is booked for a decent rugby tackle on Mbappe, who was in the process of haring off down the right wing. Free kick. And from that. 8.20pm GMT 33 min: Space for Dani Alves down the right. He wheechs a cross into the box. Cavani, on the edge of the area, lashes a first-time shot over the bar. Wild. Celtic hearts were in mouths there. 8.19pm GMT 31 min: So having said that, Ntcham sprays a long ball down the inside-left channel for Dembele to chase. The Celtic striker is one on one with Marquinhos. He drops a shoulder in the hope of stripping the PSG defender on the outside, but it’s too obvious a move and he loses possession. For a second, though, the hosts were seriously on the back foot. 8.18pm GMT 30 min: Suddenly, after a decent 20 minutes, Celtic look uncertain, their confidence kaput. They’re struggling to string two passes together. Half time is a distant speck in the distance right now. 8.16pm GMT The ball’s worked back to Verratti, 30 yards from goal. He loops towards Mbappe and Neymar on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. The pair both go for the same header. It breaks across the face of goal for Cavani, who can’t miss from a couple of yards. 8.15pm GMT 27 min: PSG continue to ping it around in an aesthetically acceptable style. Neymar tries to kid Bitton with a dropped shoulder down the left. He so nearly scampers clear into the box. A corner will have to do. And from it . 8.13pm GMT 26 min: Neymar, quarterbacking from deep on the right, sends a crossfield looper towards Cavani, who meets it just inside the box and slaps a diagonal volley inches wide of the right-hand post. That would have been picture-book. It would also have been offside, the flag going up after Cavani went too early. But still, that was a very pretty effort. 8.12pm GMT 25 min: What a response this has been by PSG. Lesser teams would have taken a while to recover from that super-early, semi-self-inflicted blow. But here we are. 8.11pm GMT 23 min: Cavani has a dig from 25 yards, but drags his effort wide right. Celtic need to regroup here. Thing is, they’ve played very well so far. It’s just . it’s just . Neymar. 8.10pm GMT It’s entertaining all right, though Celtic might not be enjoying it so much. PSG stroke it around awhile. Suddenly Neymar springs into life. He one-twos with Rabiot and Verratti down the inside-left channel, and he’s suddenly in space in the Celtic box. For the second time tonight, he draws Gordon and threads a shot across the keeper and into the bottom right. It looks so easy. It really isn’t. Celtic could do nothing about that. 8.08pm GMT 21 min: Celtic come straight back at PSG. Dembele, to the left of the D, tees up Ntcham for a first-time shot with a cushioned touch. Ntcham, falling backwards, sends a low screamer inches wide of the right-hand post. Not sure Areola had that covered. This is an awfully entertaining match. 8.07pm GMT 20 min: Dani Alves sends a looping pass down the inside-right channel. Mbappe strides into the box after the ball, and meets it on the volley as it drops over his shoulder, sending the ball over the crossbar. That would have been a gorgeous goal. It wouldn’t have been a million miles away from the Gerrard-Cisse combination in the 2006 FA Cup final. 8.05pm GMT 18 min: Rogic powers through the middle. He’s brought down just outside the area. He’s not getting the foul, though. No matter: Celtic come again, McGregor releasing Ntcham down the left. Ntcham reaches the byline and whips back for Dembele on the penalty spot. Dembele shapes like Zidane to hit the ball first time, but can only send it squirting harmlessly wide left. Celtic are clearly in the mood to give it a go, and to hell with it, which is refreshing. 8.03pm GMT 16 min: Rabiot very nearly releases Cavani through the middle with a sliderule pass; Simunovic does very well to intercept with a telescopic leg. The best form of defence may be attack. Dembele goes tearing down the left and feeds McGregor, tight on the touchline. McGregor whips low and hard into the area. Areola gathers at the second attempt. 8.02pm GMT 15 min: PSG float three speculative high balls into the Celtic box. Cavani, Mbappe and Verratti take turns to nearly get the ball under control. Celtic are under pressure here. 8.00pm GMT 13 min: Lustig has tweaked his hamstring while turning to stop a ball going out for a corner. On comes Nir Bitton in his stead. All of a sudden, Celtic’s fast start seems an awfully long time ago. 7.59pm GMT 11 min: A free kick for PSG out on the left. The hosts load the box. Neymar takes. It’s curled into the mixer. Gordon claims a dipping ball on the edge of his six-yard box, but Kurzawa was inches away from tickling that with his eyebrows and sending it flashing into the net. 7.56pm GMT Well that didn’t take long for the hot home side to get back on terms. Brown loses the ball in the middle of the park, a sloppy pass intercepted by Rabiot. The PSG midfielder drives forward, then slides a pass down the inside-left channel for Neymar, who enters the box, draws Gordon off his line, and slots low and hard across the keeper and into the bottom right. What a glorious finish! What a game we have here! 7.55pm GMT 7 min: This is a nice statistic. Ntcham’s corner was Celtic’s first touch of the match; Dembele’s goal was their second. As fast starts go, that’s pretty efficient. 7.53pm GMT 6 min: But the goal’s given Celtic confidence, and McGregor wins the ball a couple of times deep in enemy territory. He links up with Tierney out on the left. A cross whipped into the box. Marquinhos whips clear. 7.52pm GMT 4 min: PSG enjoy a little possession in the Celtic half, but do nothing in particular with it. A decent enough response by the home team, though the Parc des Princes crowd have been shocked into silence. The away fans giving it plenty. 7.50pm GMT 2 min: So PSG have finally conceded a Champions League goal. And what a comedy of errors it was. But take nothing away from Dembele’s strike; he really put his foot through it, and got the lucky break he deserved! 7.49pm GMT The corner’s pulled back by Ntcham to Dembele, on the right-hand edge of the PSG box. Dembele takes a first-time whack. There’s a deflection, confusing Areola, and the ball flies into the top-left corner off the keeper’s palms! 7.48pm GMT Celtic get into their pre-match huddle . then into position . and we’re off! The hosts get the ball rollingm and stroke it around the back a bit. Stroke, pass, ping. Then a very weird business as Ntcham presses down the Celtic left, forcing Dani Alves into a strange crossfield blooter across the face of his own goal and out of play to the right of the net! A very odd corner conceded. And. 7.44pm GMT Here come the teams! Paris Saint-Germain sport their blue shirts with red strip down the chest; Celtic wear those famous green and white hoops. A rare old atmosphere at the Parc des Princes, only momentarily jiggered by that bloody Handel-bothering Uefa theme. We’ll be off in a minute! 7.34pm GMT Brendan Rodgers speaks! “You go into every game hoping you get a result. The pitch is amazing, the stadium is amazing, we know it’s gong to be a really tough game, but we showed in our last game that we played with that belief that you can come into this game and create chances and score goals. Now we may not have the most possession tonight, but what’s important is that you have the dangerous possession. If we can defend strongly, we’re in with a fighting chance. We’ve gone with two more midfield players to keep us narrow; Scott Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong have little niggles, so it’s not good to risk them when we have a huge squad and a big game at the weekend.” 7.03pm GMT Paris Saint-Germain name the same XI sent out to thrash Celtic at Parkhead back in September . nearly. There’s one difference: Thiago Motta is replaced by Julian Draxler.Celtic meanwhile make three changes to the team forced to scrap for their victory at Ross County last weekend. Jozo Simunovic, Tom Rogic and Olivier Ntcham are in; Nir Bitton, Scott Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong drop to the bench. 7.03pm GMT Paris Saint-Germain: Areola, Dani Alves, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Kurzawa, Verratti, Rabiot, Draxler, Mbappe-Lottin, Cavani, Neymar.Subs: Trapp, Kimpembe, Di Maria, Meunier, Yuri, Lo Celso, Pastore.Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, Simunovic, Tierney, Brown, Forrest, McGregor, Rogic, Ntcham, Dembele.Subs: De Vries, Bitton, Roberts, Griffiths, Sinclair, Armstrong, Eboue. 6.13pm GMT Celtic can’t make it through to the knockout stage, but significant reward could be theirs tonight nonetheless. Should they beat Paris Saint-Germain, they’ll be guaranteed a place in the Europa League in the new year. And a draw might even be enough, if elsewhere Anderlecht fail to stop Bayern Munich. A most acceptable consolation prize is Celtic’s for the taking.Problem is, taking is a big ask. PSG are on something of a roll in Europe; they’ve won all four of their games in Group B, scoring 17 goals and conceding none. They’ve spanked Bayern Munich 3-0 and Anderlecht 5-0 at the Parc des Princes. More worryingly for Brendan Rodgers side, they won 5-0 at Parkhead as well, a result which stands as Celtic’s record European home defeat. Continue readingreadfullarticle
