Callum McGregor won't fall into Celtic trap as Lazio slow start can't fool captain over Champions League quality

It was labelled the Miracle of Stoppage Time by respected Italian football bible Gazzetta dello Sport.

Inspirational, is how Callum McGregor would describe it. The Celtic captain reckons he can dip into the memory banks for some encouragement ahead of tonight’s Champions League clash with Lazio. Plenty of critics fire unwanted stats at Celts when it comes to this competition but this is a fixture that provided plenty of positive emotions for the Hoops.

McGregor is one of the few Parkhead stars still the club from 2019 – when Neil Lennon’s side struck late winners to dump Lazio home and away en route to finishing top of their Europa League group. Both matches were epic. Celtic had to come from behind in both encounters, with Christopher Jullien’s late header grabbing the points in Glasgow – and then keeper Fraser Forster pulling off that injury-time miracle save that had the Italian journos going all poetic.

McGregor knows the result four years ago against the Biancocelesti won’t count for much this evening but it can provide inspiration. The skipper said: “It was a wee while ago now but obviously a really positive night. It was a tough game and to win it in that fashion in the last couple of minutes was great.

“The big man gets a header on it for a brilliant late winner. The place was rocking, the atmosphere was great. It was a brilliant night, a special night. Obviously we then repeated it a few weeks later in Rome.

“They are brilliant memories to have. We need to try to draw on that type of performance, that type of energy, especially from the crowd at home.”

Celtic showed huge character to come from behind in both Lazio clashes – with Olivier Ntcham nabbing a last-minute winner in Rome – and that kind of resilience