The first Old Firm derby of 2021 and we had a very interesting game. Celtic dominated a lot of the game but following a Nir Bitton red card Rangers scored and took all the points. The final score was 1-0 to the home side.
Here is how the players did:
Embed from Getty ImagesRangers –
Allan McGregor – A very decent performance from the Rangers number one. Made some excellent saves. Without him Rangers may have struggled. 9
James Tavernier – Wasn’t his usual self today having being marked and picked up well. He did get the assist for the own goal from the corner but certainly could have been more in the game. Defensively sound, however, keeping the Celtic frontline as quiet as he could. 6
Connor Goldson – A sound performance from him but again not his best of the season. Did well at times and helped keep yet another Rangers clean sheet. 6.2
Leon Balogun – Was a bit nervy at the start of the game making a few defensive errors that, luckily for him, wasn’t taken advantage of. His last ditch challenge on Odsonne Edouard kept it at 0-0 and helped to win the game. 6.5
Embed from Getty ImagesBorna Barisic – Much like Tavernier he was marked well and not allowed to attack. Defensively he did well when he was needed maintaining a good performance. 6
Steven Davis – Had a quiet first half but once again grew into the game. He played a key role in the win as he so often does. 6.9
Glen Kamara – Had a fairly strong performance all round showing his ability where it was needed. Once again though his second half performance was stronger than his first. Still a good performance from the Finnish international. 7.2
Joe Aribo – Got on the end of the corner before McGregor’s own goal and looked bright for much of the game. A poor first half seems to be the story of the game for the Rangers players and Aribo is no different. 7
Ryan Kent – Had a solid game here today. One of the few players to have a fairly strong first half with some of his runs looking productive. Not entirely his day though fading out in the second half. 6.8
Kemar Roofe – Unfortunately taken off at half time after not being able to do much in the first half. Certainly wasn’t his best performance of the season having looked bright since signing. 5
Alfredo Morelos – A good performance from him today. He might be frustrated not to have got his first goal against Celtic especially after being taken down for the red card. Came off following a yellow card but an all round strong performance. 7
Embed from Getty ImagesSubstitutions –
Ianis Hagi – Came on at half time and changed the game for Rangers. He looked bright on the ball and challenged the Celtic defence on multiple occasions. 8
Cedric Itten – Came on and didn’t do a whole lot. Took a decent effort from long range which was his only real involvement. 5.2
Bongani Zungu – Came on late in order to just see off the game. 3
Brandon Barker – Another player coming on late in order to kill time. 3
Manager –
Steven Gerrard – An interesting day for the Rangers manager. A poor first half performance but certainly helped change the tide of the game at half time. Did enough for his team to go out and win the game. Made some good substitutions as well with Hagi coming on and doing outstandingly and taking Morelos off was probably needed. Will be delighted that his team picked up the points but probably knows the performance should have been better. 6.5
Embed from Getty ImagesCeltic –
Vasilis Barkas – Didn’t have much to do at all with Rangers not registering a single shot on target. Probably couldn’t do much about the goal so may have been unlucky. 6
Diego Laxalt – Defensively he did a good job at keeping Tavernier quiet but going forward needed to do better. Some of his deliveries especially were quite poor. 6
Nir Bitton – Had a solid first half but after taking down Morelos, who was through on goal, he saw red. He must be frustrated with himself considering how much that changed the game. 2.5
Embed from Getty ImagesKristoffer Ajer – Another player who did well defensively for Celtic keeping Morelos and Roofe under wraps. Did well at the back especially with his distribution trying to get his team up the pitch. 6.5
Jeremie Frimpong – Rangers had a few men on him at times showing how dangerous he was as a threat coming forward. 6.8
Ismaila Soro – Another player who was, at times, a real handful for the Rangers players. Did well especially in replacing Scott Brown who missed out on a starting place. 6.2
Callum McGregor – He had a solid first half and did well at times. He was the unlucky player that put the ball in his own net though which gave Rangers the win. 6
David Turnbull – Quiet game for him as he fails to continue his scoring form. Created very little despite being in some promising areas. 5.5
Ryan Christie – Very poor going forward today giving the ball away on multiple occasions. Definetly not a strong performance. 5.2
Embed from Getty ImagesOdsonne Edouard – Looked lively going forward but couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. His partnership with Lee Griffiths often seemed dangerous but couldn’t take advantage of some good chances. 6
Lee Griffiths – Forced off the pitch following the Bitton red card. Beforehand though he looked solid. Created lots of chances and very unlucky not to score. McGregor’s outstanding performance keeping him at bay. 6.3
Substitutions –
Shane Duffy – Came on and looked shaky in the Celtic defence. Lucky to stay on the pitch following a very late foul on Kent. Not really a day to remember from him. 2.5
Scott Brown – Another player coming on fairly late on. Didn’t do much at all. Involved in the scuffle in the second half and came away with a booking. 3
Tom Rogic – Had a chance from range late on but couldn’t get Celtic back into the game which he most likely came on to do. 3
Mohamed Elyounoussi – Very quiet in this one after coming off the bench. He took some of the Celtic set pieces but his delivery was poor. 3
Hatem Abd Elhamed – On for the last few minutes of the game and was fairly poor on the ball. Didn’t provide much going forward. 2.8
Manager –
Neil Lennon – The game started off well and he was probably happy with his team. Frustrated that they couldn’t score. The red card changed the game and he will definetly be annoyed that they conceded and looked poor following it. Not a bad managerial display but certainly could have been better. 6.2
Embed from Getty ImagesMan of the Match – Allan McGregor
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