Soccer

Cup final is perfect way for Celtic to bounce back from PSG nightmare says Scott Brown

Celtic skipper Scott Brown believes Sunday's Betfred Cup final against Motherwell is the perfect game to focus the mind after the 7-1 hammering at the hands of PSG on Wednesday night Picture: PA
Celtic skipper Scott Brown believes Sunday's Betfred Cup final against Motherwell is the perfect game to focus the mind after the 7-1 hammering at the hands of PSG on Wednesday night Picture: PA Celtic skipper Scott Brown believes Sunday's Betfred Cup final against Motherwell is the perfect game to focus the mind after the 7-1 hammering at the hands of PSG on Wednesday night Picture: PA

Celtic skipper Scott Brown is looking to Sunday's Betfred Cup final as an antidote to the painful 7-1 thrashing by Paris St Germain on Wednesday night.

The Hoops suffered at the hands of the big-spending French club for the second time this season in their Champions League campaign.

A 5-0 defeat on match day one at Parkhead almost paled into insignificance at the Parc des Princess after French striker Moussa Dembele had dramatically put the Scottish champions ahead inside a minute.

Doubles from Neymar and Edinson Cavani plus goals from Kylian Mbappe, Marco Verratti and Dani Alves made it five Group B wins out of five for the Paris side who took their goals tally to 24, a record in the group stages.

Brown, disappointed as he was, is looking to end the week by lifting silverware against Motherwell at Hampden Park.

"You have to try to take the positives out of every result but once you look at the scoreline nobody really cares about any of the positives," the midfielder said.

"But it is about how you bounce back and we have a huge game on Sunday.

"We need to make sure we go full steam ahead and hopefully be lifting that cup at the end of it."

Celtic's final Group B fixture is against Anderlecht in Glasgow next month.

The third-placed Parkhead club lead the Belgian side by three points following a 3-0 away win in Anderlecht and are well-placed to clinch a Europa League spot.

The Scotland skipper insists Europa League football after Christmas was the more realistic aim when they were drawn in a group which included PSG and German giants Bayern Munich, who also beat the Scottish champions home and away.

"At the start you would have taken European football (after Christmas)," he said.

"Everyone knew it was going to be a hard one for us.

"But the 3-0 away to Anderlecht is great for us and puts us kind of where we wanted to be and now it is in our hands."

Celtic lost 7-0 to Barcelona in the Nou Camp last season but Brown believes PSG are better.

"That is the best team I have ever played against," he said.

"I played against Barcelona in their prime but they (PSG) have pace everywhere, they are creative and look like they are going to score a goal in every attack.

"That's what you get when you pay the top quality money they have paid.

"They were phenomenal over both legs but it is a learning process for us."

Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon also described PSG as the best team he has ever faced, and insisted there will be no problem with motivation for Sunday's final.

He said: "It's a cup final. We will take stock over the next few days and get back into training.

"There is no need to lift us for anything, it's a cup final and we want to win it so that won't be a problem.

"Don't forget we came into this in pot four so if we can get out of the group in third place then we have achieved better.

"So I don't think we should be too despondent.

"If we can stay in European football beyond Christmas then we have done a good job."