Neil Lennon blasts 'wind-up' merchant Neymar after Paris Saint-Germain's thrashing of Celtic

‘He is infuriating but he knows it’: Neil Lennon blasts ‘wind-up’ merchant Neymar after Paris Saint-Germain’s thrashing of Celtic in friendly

  • Neil Lennon has slammed Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar after Celtic loss
  • The Celtic boss watched his side lose 4-0 in a friendly at the Parc des Princes
  • Kylian Mbappe, Neymar, Ander Herrera and Pablo Sarabia all scored for PSG
  • Brazilian Neymar, who is known for his tricks, frustrated Lennon with his antics

Neil Lennon branded Neymar ‘infuriating’ because of his play-acting during Celtic’s 4-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in a friendly on Tuesday.

Striker Kylian Mbappe had the home side ahead in the first minute before Neymar, Ander Herrera and Pablo Sarabia completed a comfortable win for the Ligue 1 champions at the Parc des Princes.

But Neymar, who is known for his tricks and winning free-kicks, frustrated Celtic manager Lennon the most.  

Neil Lennon told his Celtic players to be careful of Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar

Neil Lennon told his Celtic players to be careful of Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar

Neymar, who is known for his tricks and winning free-kicks, frustrated Celtic manager Lennon

Neymar, who is known for his tricks and winning free-kicks, frustrated Celtic manager Lennon

PSG 4-0 CELTIC MATCH STATS  

PSG (4-2-4): Navas (Rico 46); Kehrer (Dagba 46), Marquinhos (Kimpebe 46), Thiago Silva (Mbe Soh 46), Bakker (Kurzawa 46); Gueye (Verratti 46), Paredes (Herrera 46); Di Maria (Draxler 46), Mbappe, (Sarabia 46) Neymar (Kalimuendo 46) (Ruiz 83), Icardi (Choupo-Moting-Moting 46).

Subs not used: Bulka, Pembele.

Goals: Mbappe 1, Neymar 25, Herrera 48, Sarabia 67.

Celtic (3-5-1-1): Bain; Bitton (Forrest 65), Jullien, Ajer; Frimpong, McGregor, Ntcham (Rogic 73), Elyounoussi, Taylor (Bolingoli 75); Christie; Edouard (Klimala 68).

Subs not used: Doohan, Hazard, Soro, Connell, Robertson, Henderson, McInroy, Welsh, Karamoko. 

‘He was just trying to wind people up,’ Lennon told the Daily Record.

‘I said to the players you just have to keep your discipline and not take the bait really.

‘He is infuriating but he knows it.

Lennon’s side went into the game following a 2-1 defeat by Lyon and a 1-1 draw with Nice in the Veolia Trophy tournament but this was a huge step up from which they can take added fitness and sharpness.

Celtic begin their quest for their 10th successive Premiership title at home to Hamilton on August 2, safe in the knowledge they will not face this level of opponent in Scotland next season.

The Hoops had lost 7-1 at the same venue and 5-0 at Parkhead when the clubs met in the Champions League in 2017.

Ominously, PSG took the lead with less than a minute on the clock when the lightning-fast Mbappe flew through the centre of the Hoops defence to take a Neymar pass and rifle the ball past helpless keeper Scott Bain.

To end a decent spell of play by the Scottish champions, Neymar took a cutback 14 yards from goal and drove in PSG’s second off the legs of defender Nir Bitton.

PSG made wholesale changes for the second half but if anything increased their control with two of their substitutes, Marco Verratti and Herrera, combining three minutes after the restart for the latter to fire in a third. 

Sarabia added a fourth in the 66th minute with a stunning volley and the French champions ran out easy winners. 

Kylian Mbappe and Neymar scored as Paris Saint-Germain thumped Celtic 4-0 in a friendly 

source: dailymail.co.uk