Neymar, left, scored twice for Paris Saint-Germain. Yoan Valat / EPA
Neymar, left, scored twice for Paris Saint-Germain. Yoan Valat / EPA

PSG star Neymar 'extraordinary' says Emery after record win over Celtic



Paris Saint-Germain manager Unai Emery urged his team to stay focused on completing an impressive Uefa Champions League group campaign after an "extraordinary" Neymar led a record-breaking win over Celtic on Wednesday.

PSG came from behind to slaughter the Scottish side 7-1 at a Parc des Princes in thrall to the Brazilian, who scored twice after Moussa Dembele had put Celtic ahead.

Edinson Cavani also netted a double, while Kylian Mbappe, Marco Verratti and Dani Alves got the French club's other goals to take them to a group-stage record tally of 24 with one Group B match still to play.

Wednesday's win was also PSG's biggest ever in the competition, seeing off the previous best performance, a 7-2 win against Rosenborg in October 2000 when it was a 21-year-old Nicolas Anelka scoring twice.

Watch the goals from the game

Qualification for the last 16 was already assured before this round of games, and Bayern Munich's 2-1 win at Anderlecht means the Germans could yet snatch top spot from Paris with the sides meeting next month.

But to do that Bayern would need to win at the Allianz Arena by a bigger margin than their 3-0 defeat in Paris in September, something that seems highly unlikely.

"The objective is to be first in the group and we are not there yet. We still have to play against Bayern and we have the advantage of the 3-0, but it will be a great match and a very difficult one," Emery said.

The Spanish manager played down any fears of an embarrassing result similar to their 6-1 loss in Barcelona in the last 16 last season, which came after Paris had won the first leg 4-0.

But he said: "Bayern are capable of it. It will be a good test. They are among the sides who could win the Champions League."

With Neymar back on song after a dip in form over the last six weeks, PSG can head to Monaco in confident mood this weekend knowing a win will move them nine points clear of the reigning champions a the top of Ligue 1.

The contrast between those sides could hardly be greater given Monaco were dumped out of Europe on Tuesday, losing 4-1 at home to RB Leipzig.

"Sunday's game away at Monaco, whom we respect, will be a great test as well but Bayern is the big match," Emery added before he sung Neymar's praises.

"He was extraordinary. There were a few matches where he stopped playing for different reasons but when he is in form physically and his mentality is right, he can play."

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Neymar enjoys playing against Celtic and has now scored seven times against the Scottish side, one of which came in Barcelona's 7-0 win last season.

That remains Celtic's biggest European defeat, but this was another humbling loss for Brendan Rodgers's side after they suffered their heaviest home loss in continental competition to PSG in September, losing 5-0.

In the midst of a British record unbeaten run of 64 games, the Hoops' limits in Europe continue to be brutally exposed, although they should still take third place in the group ahead of Anderlecht.

"In a strange way there were lots of good moments for us," Rodgers said. "The lessons for us are that we can keep the ball a bit better, and secondly you've got to defend better, but you also have to admire the sheer quality of Paris Saint-Germain.

"It's a sore one, but I'm certainly not anywhere near as disappointed as I was against Barcelona, funnily enough," added Rodgers, whose team must try to bounce back in time for a League Cup final against Motherwell on Sunday.

"Your professional pride is hurt, because when you lose seven goals you're not so happy, but it's dovetailed with admiration for a side who I'd be very surprised if they don't make the final."

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Saturday's schedule at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

GP3 race, 12:30pm

Formula 1 final practice, 2pm

Formula 1 qualifying, 5pm

Formula 2 race, 6:40pm

Performance: Sam Smith

ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY

Starting at 10am:

Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang

Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)

Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)

Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera 

Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.

A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.

Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.

A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.

On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.

The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.

Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.

The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later. 

'Laal Kaptaan'

Director: Navdeep Singh

Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain

Rating: 2/5

Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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