Steven Gerrard decision to start Ianis Hagi against Celtic backfired massively
Steven Gerrard decided to start Ianis Hagi for Rangers but he failed to impact the game and Celtic dealt with him comfortably.
Hagi was left out of the contest against Salvia Prague on Thursday so Gerrard may have been key to add a fresh player to his starting line-up.
The winger had a point to prove after his omission in mid-week but he did not show that in his performance at Parkhead.
In his defence, it was a tough game for our wingers as Celtic dominated large spells and achieved 56% possession.
However, Kent managed a shot on target and three successful dribbles – Hagi did not offer anything in either of those departments, per SofaScore.
The 22-year-old only touched the ball 29 times in his 55 minutes on the pitch.
To put things into perspective Kent had 59 touches and even Allan McGregor had 50, so it is no wonder Gerrard hauled Hagi off early in the second half.
We needed Hagi to provide some inspiration on the right-flank but Diego Laxalt simply had the better of him throughout.
He lacked support but failed to mix up his game by drifting inside or dropping deep to collect the ball.
As a result, Hagi will have to step up his performances in training over the next two weeks if he is to maintain his place in the side.
Kemar Roofe is back fit and will be eager to start, while Scott Wright is another pushing for a place in the starting line-up.
In big games, we need our forwards to stand up and be counted.
Alfredo Morelos did that with his equalising goal but Hagi was all too quiet – Gerrard made a mistake in starting him.
Hagi did only lose possession four times but that is mainly because he was never on the ball in dangerous positions, and that meant we were too predictable in attack.
We expect to see a response from the Romanian, starting against Cove Rangers in our next game back after the international break.
In other Rangers news, the police have released a statement following the Old Firm game.