2018-12-29: TheRangers 1-0 Celtic, SP

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Review

(LLD of KDS)
a totally unacceptable performance. The only consolation being that we couldn't have played any worse, and the scum couldn't have played any better, but that's scant comfort. A shambles from start to finish. I'm far from an expert in footballing tactics, but I could have fielded a more effective side than the one that started that game, I bet most on here could have. For eff sake Brendan sort it out. Play what has proven to be our best formation, forget that eye watering playing it out from the back nonsense – it doesn't work often enough with the current playing staff and more often than not gets us into trouble – forget being sentimental with players who are past it, and get us back to being the team we were in your first season.

Teams

Rangers

• 1McGregor
• 2Tavernier
• 6Goldson
• 3Worrall
• 16HallidayBooked at 88mins
• 17McCrorie
• 21Candeias Substituted forCoulibalyat 71'minutes
• 37Arfield Substituted forFlanaganat 90+2'minutes
• 8Jack
• 14Kent
• 20Morelos
Substitutes
5Wallace
11Lafferty
13Foderingham
15Flanagan
19Katic
23Coulibaly
40Middleton
Goals
• Jack (30' minutes)

Celtic

1Gordon
23LustigBooked at 45mins Substituted forRalstonat 45'minutes

• 20Boyata
• 32Benkovic Substituted forAjerat 45+1'minutesBooked at 76mins
• 42McGregor
• 8BrownBooked at 78mins
• 21Ntcham
• 49Forrest
• 17Christie
• 11Sinclair
• 73Johnston Substituted forEdouardat 60'minutes
Substitutes
• 15Hayes
• 16Morgan
• 22Edouard
• 29Bain
• 35Ajer
• 56Ralston
• 63Tierney
Referee:John Beaton
Attendance:49,863

Attendance:

Articles

• Match Report (see end of page below)

Pictures

• Match Pictures

Stats

Articles

Rangers’ bolt from the blue stuns Celtic in the Glasgow derby

Stephen Halliday
Published: 06:00 Monday 31 December 2018
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/teams/celtic/rangers-bolt-from-the-blue-stuns-celtic-in-the-glasgow-derby-1-4850087
Scottish football has become accustomed to the spectacle of largely one-sided Old Firm fixtures in recent years.

But the sight of Rangers being the utterly dominant force when the ancient Glasgow rivals cross swords was both a rare and welcome phenomenon for their supporters to witness at Ibrox on Saturday.
Rangers players run to congratulate Ryan Jack on the goal that decided Saturday's Old Firm clash at Ibrox. Picture: SNS.
Rangers players run to congratulate Ryan Jack on the goal that decided Saturday's Old Firm clash at Ibrox. Picture: SNS.

It will take much more than just one derby victory for Steven Gerrard to loosen the iron grip Celtic have exerted on the Scottish Premiership under his old Liverpool gaffer Brendan Rodgers’ tutelage.

This, however, was unquestionably the most encouraging 90 minutes Rangers and their fans have experienced since the club’s financial collapse in 2012.

Gerrard was able to sign off his first six months in charge at Ibrox with the most complete and effective performance his team have yet delivered. They were startlingly superior to the reigning champions all over the pitch and now go into the winter break fuelled by a genuine belief they can sustain a strong title challenge in the second half of the season.

By contrast, this was as poorly as Celtic have played in a domestic fixture since Rodgers took charge in the summer of 2016. After an unprecedented run of success in Old Firm matches, his first defeat in 13 outings against Rangers will certainly have reinforced Rodgers’ desire to freshen up and strengthen his squad during the January transfer window.

Celtic remain the favourites to come out on top in what is proving to be an absorbingly competitive title race in which Kilmarnock and Aberdeen continue to have a significant interest. The Parkhead men still top the table on goal difference from Rangers and have a game in hand but there is a growing sense that the aura of impregnability Rodgers has constructed around them in the previous two seasons may be drifting away.

Nowhere was that more evident on Saturday than in a midfield battle which Rangers won hands-down. It’s an area of the pitch where Celtic have often almost contemptuously toyed with Rangers during Rodgers’ tenure but this time it was the trio of Scott Arfield, Ross McCrorie and goal scorer Ryan Jack who took complete control.

Arfield ensured Celtic captain Scott Brown endured one of his most discomfiting afternoons in this fixture, while Olivier Ntcham also had no answer to the greater energy and desire of those in the Rangers engine room.

The loss of Callum McGregor from the Celtic midfield, their most influential player this season deployed at left-back with Kieran Tierney only fit enough for a place among the substitutes, proved damagingly disruptive to the champions.

Aside from a fairly even opening ten minutes, which saw Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor make what proved to be his only significant save of the match to keep out a James Forrest shot, the hosts held all the aces.

The 1-0 lead Rangers took into the interval, Jack claiming his first goal for the club when his 30th-minute shot took a deflection off Brown on its way to beating Craig Gordon, did not do justice to their mastery of proceedings.

Gordon kept Celtic in contention with some fine saves and there was a brief spell in the second half, when Rodgers switched to a diamond formation in midfield, when the visitors hinted at a recovery as McGregor saw a goal marginally but correctly disallowed for offside following a rare move of fluency and incision.
29/12/18 LADBROKES PREMIERSHIP'RANGERS v CELTIC'IBROX – GLASGOW'Craig Gordon in action for Celtic
Champions will come back stronger says Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon

But although the inspirational Andy Halliday had to make a brave and crucial block to keep out Ntcham’s 85th-minute shot, an equaliser for Celtic would have been a form of larceny on this occasion. The slender scoreline was another reminder for Gerrard that Rangers will have to develop greater efficiency in chance conversion in the second half of the campaign if they hope to maximise their prospects of winning the title.

On-loan Liverpool winger Ryan Kent, who shone on his return to action after injury and provided a brilliant assist for Jack’s goal, was among those who passed up opportunities to inflict a much heavier defeat on Celtic. The 22-year-old, however, was gratified by his role in a success he believes will have earned Rangers greater respect throughout the Premiership.

“The way we played today, I think everyone will fear us in the league,” said Kent. “We were the better team. There are a lot of good players in our squad and you can see what it means to them. They all put 110 per cent in. When we perform like that, you can see what we can get out of games.

“I could have had a couple of goals myself, that was the only disappointing thing for me, but the most important thing were the three points.

“The target was to get after Celtic from the first whistle because we showed them too much respect when we played them away from home in September. We gave them too much time on the ball and they looked a better team. But this time we got after them and looked much the better team.”

Despite the injury problems which saw Filip Benkovic and Mikael Lustig both replaced before the start of the second half, there were no excuses offered from the Celtic camp.

“The changes didn’t make a great deal of an impact,” said goalkeeper Gordon. “We were still set up to play in a certain style but we just didn’t manage to execute our gameplan well enough.

“Whatever player plays, they all know their roles. We knew what we were trying to do. We just weren’t capable of carrying out the plan well enough.”

Rangers moved level with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership after inflicting Brendan Rodgers' first defeat in 13 Old Firm games.

The home side dominated at a raucous Ibrox to defeat the reigning Scottish champions for the first time since April 2016.

An off the pace Celtic remain top on goal difference, and still have a game in hand over Rangers.

Ryan Jack scored the decisive goal during a one-sided first half.

The visitors were indebted to a string of excellent Craig Gordon saves for keeping them in the game.

Celtic did have a Callum McGregor goal ruled out for offside after the break, but otherwise spent most of the contest at Ibrox on the back foot.

Rangers' win is about the fans – Gerrard
Celtic boss Rodgers admits 'best team won'
How did the players rate?

Midfield muscle powers Rangers

Rangers' intent was evident from the moment Andy Halliday – filling in at left-back for the injured Borna Barisic – celebrated winning a tackle on Olivier Ntcham in the opening minute as though he had scored.

The hosts were urgent, imposing and dominant across the pitch, but the foundation for their performance was the midfield three of Ross McCrorie, Scott Arfield and Jack.

Celtic were hustled and harried out of their normally peerless rhythm, and a waywardness was forced into their play that saw the likes of Dedryck Boyata, Scott Brown and McGregor either pass the ball straight off the field or to a Rangers player.

It was a reflection on the dynamic of the game that Celtic's best player was goalkeeper Gordon, who kept the score down with saves from a Daniel Candeias volley and Connor Goldson's header.
Rangers were denied by a string of Craig Gordon saves
Rangers were denied by a string of Craig Gordon saves

Before Rangers broke the deadlock, Alfredo Morelos and Brown competed for a Halliday corner, and sent the ball spinning off an upright.

Celtic were ragged, and that sense of disorientation eventually proved costly. Kent, a sprightly figure throughout, left Mikael Lustig grounded with a fine run down the left, and when he cut the ball back to Jack, the midfielder side-footed a shot through the legs of Brown, whose heel also deflected the ball past Gordon.

The visitors had strength in depth on their bench, but by the start of the second half they had been forced into two defensive changes, with Kristoffer Ajer replacing the injured Filip Benkovic and Anthony Ralston coming on for Lustig.

The interval did not disrupt Rangers' momentum, and the home side ought to have scored twice in the opening moments after Gordon under-hit a pass to Boyata, allowing Kent to rob the ball. The winger's shot was saved by Gordon, and then Boyata blocked Arfield's follow-up on the goal-line.

Even when Rangers' intensity level dipped, Celtic were prevented from landing a decisive blow. Ryan Christie's shot was deflected wide by Joe Worrall's challenge and in the final moments, Halliday defended stoutly to block a shot by Ntcham.

In between, McGregor ran in behind the Rangers defence, but was judged to be offside before tucking the ball into the net.
Celtic's Callum McGregor had a late effort ruled offside
Celtic's Callum McGregor had a late effort ruled offside
'It was a monumental performance' – analysis

Former Rangers striker Steven Thompson on Sportsound

That was Rangers' best performance of the season. If they can replicate this on a regular basis – and if Celtic produce more performances as bad as this – there's 100% a title race.

It's a monumental performance, easily their best under Steven Gerrard. From minute one, the desire and hunger, they wanted it more. They treated it like an Old Firm game while Celtic thought they could turn up and put in an average performance.

Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner on Sportsound

It's a big, big victory for Rangers and Steven Gerrard. I'm surprised it's been so one-sided. They've bossed the game and deserved their victory.
Watch: Rangers' players celebrate victory over Celtic
'They brought their A-game' – reaction

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard on Sky Sports: "This moment is all about the supporters, they've been through a lot and they've been punished in these fixtures.

"The players were outstanding. I asked them to win more one v ones and we were better to a man, we were the better team, we could have won it more comfortably.

"We played with courage, we played with belief, we were brave, competed all over the pitch, I asked them to bring their A-game and they did – that's what I want to see on a regular basis."

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers on Sky Sports: "I thought the best team won. Rangers played well. We had a lot of unforced mistakes and didn't create as much as we would like so we've got no excuse.

"I think with players missing and one or two unfit, it took away a little bit of strength from us. We brought pressure onto ourselves at times with poor decision-making.

"They'll feel the hurt of losing a Celtic v Rangers game and hopefully that will make them better going forward.