Callum McGregor looks to surpass 'magic night' in Italy with Atalanta heroics as he reveals Champions League homework

Callum McGregor constantly gets battered over the head about Celtic’s struggles on the road in the Champions League.

But the Hoops skipper reckons his side can take some inspiration from arguably his favourite European jaunt of all time – the night Celts conquered Rome. It might not have been in the top tier competition but Neil Lennon’s men taking down Lazio in the Olympic Stadium in the Europa League in 2019 still rates as one of the club’s best performances on the continent in recent times.

Okay, the Parkhead men don’t exactly have a huge list to pick from. But memories of that famous evening in the Italian capital might come in handy as Celts get set to take on formidable opposition on Italian soil once again. McGregor said: “It was a positive result. It was an amazing night and you still remember the scenes after the game. It was right up there. I think the one thing that game teaches you is that you have to be concentrated at this level and you have got to ride your luck a little bit as well.

“You have got to show quality when you have the ball and the last goal in that game you saw that we did a lot of defensive work in the game. The game changes in that moment with that transition and the speed and the power that we have got.

“We then picked the right pass and got the quality. I think we have to bring all of that together. We keep speaking about the level and the margins are so fine. It is important that you bring the levels with the ball.

“If you give the ball away nine times out of ten you are getting counter-attacked and the boys are chasing the ball for four or five minutes then that can disorganise the group as well. At this level, we need to control the ball as much as we can.

“It was all set up for us as