Todd Cantwell anonymous in 2/10 stinker, 7/10 James Tavernier stars again – Rangers player ratings v Celtic
Rangers suffered their first defeat under the management of Philippe Clement as they lost 2-1 to Celtic in the second Old Firm derby of the season.
Brendan Rodgers’ side claimed all three points at Celtic Park on Saturday 30 December, with goals from Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi ensuring that James Tavernier’s excellent late free-kick was nothing more than a consolation.
Rangers’ misery was compounded after Leon Balogun was shown a red card midway through the second half for a foul on Daizen Maeda to leave the supporters on the blue half of Glasgow and Clement rueing another missed opportunity.
Ibrox News has rated the players out of 10 below;
Jack Butland – 6
Little the Rangers’ number one could do about the opener as it was thundered past him before he would have even spotted it. Maybe would have hoped to have done more with Kyogo’s strike having got a hand to it but no shame in conceding two excellent strikes.
James Tavernier – 7
A true moment of magic with an absolutely magical free-kick in the closing minutes as he once again stepped up to try and rescue his side. Did work incredibly hard out of possession and won more duels and tackles than any player on either side. A mixed afternoon but one of Rangers’ better players.
Connor Goldson – 4
Back in the side after a brief spell on the sidelines and looked slightly rusty during the opening exchanges. Far too slow to get out to Kyogo for the host’s second goal and needlessly gifted the home side back possession with several loose passes. Have to wonder if he was fit to start.
Leon Balogun – 2
Looked incredibly shaky with a couple of ridiculous moments on the ball. Caught out midway through the second half and hauled Maeda to the ground to see red. After a good few months under Clement, the 35-year-old looked miles off of the pace and let his side down at Celtic Park.
Ridvan Yilmaz – 5
Started in Borna Barisic’s absence but was unable to have a particularly big impact on proceedings. Won 100 per cent of his ground duels and attempted to get forward in possession but was unable to fashion out a genuine opportunity for his teammates. Not the worst in Light Blue but still average at best.
John Lundstram – 5
Returned to the starting XI but was nowhere near his influential best at Celtic Park. Tried to maintain possession when possible and wasn’t particularly effective, but did manage to create two chances for his teammates before he was replaced by John Souttar following Balogun’s sending-off [Fotmob].
Dujon Sterling – 6
Once again deployed in his new midfield role for Rangers and while he battled away but was unable to have the same influence on proceedings that he has done in recent weeks. A better showing than his last Old Firm appearance and while not perfect was one of the Light Blues’ better players.
Todd Cantwell – 2
Rangers’ supposed star man was once again quiet when they needed him to step up. Was incredibly poor during the opening 45 minutes as he was unable to test Joe Hart with an incredibly weak effort from the edge of the box. Clement needs his “best” players to start stepping up in big games and that includes Cantwell who was anonymous on Saturday.
Ross McCausland – 5
Got at the Celtic backline well in the opening exchanges, but wasted a couple of excellent chances to level things up in the first half. Failed to find Abdallah Sima in plenty of space as he broke through. Probably the best of a bad bunch in the Rangers frontline at Celtic Park but still plenty of room for improvement.
Abdallah Sima – 4
Poor header when trying to clear before Paulo Bernardo’s opener. Had to get the ball further away from the goal but didn’t even manage to get the ball out of the penalty area. Picked up a knock and came off midway through the second half. Only completed five passes and Rangers would have hoped for better.
Cyriel Dessers – 3
Should have levelled things up just after the hour mark but dawdled on the ball for far too long. Considering his recent form he simply had to take the shot and really should have scored. Once again drifted offside far too often. Plenty of energy but nowhere near good enough to be the Gers’ number nine.
Substitutes
Kieran Dowell – 4
Scott Wright – 5
John Souttar – 5
In other Rangers news, Barry Ferguson has shared a “crazy” new Lawrence Shankland verdict after the addition of Fabio Silva