Rangers vs Celtic: Neil Lennon stunned by ‘unbelievable’ Jack Butland in Ibrox drama
Jack Butland’s save from Matt O’Riley to keep Rangers in the game during the first half against Celtic was “unbelievable”, according to Neil Lennon.
The former Hoops boss praised the Gers keeper on PLZ Soccer’s The Football Show on 8 April, admitting the stop to deny the Danish midfielder’s header bound for the top corner was “fantastic” as part of a performance that prevented the visitors from being out of sight by the interval.
It came after he had saved a simpler effort from opening-scorer Daizen Maeda which looked set to extend the lead, but not as clearly as the O’Riley effort from around the penalty spot did before Butland’s outstretched arm clawed it away.
Lennon said (8m 35s): “The save from O’Riley’s fantastic. I thought the Maeda one was a comfortable height for him but obviously he’s still got to make the save.
“But the O’Riley one looked a goal all the way and he’s just made an unbelievable save to tip that away.”
Rangers star rescues dismal half for Philippe Clement with Matt O’Riley stop
It isn’t an exaggeration to say that without Butland the Light Blues would have lost the game, and may have been on the end of one of the thrashings largely restricted to Celtic Park in recent seasons.
He couldn’t really be held responsible for the freak opener within seconds of kick-off, which James Tavernier caused, and the O’Riley penalty was well-taken after the struggling Connor Goldson’s handball was spotted by VAR.
He was otherwise the only thing keeping Rangers in it during a miserable half that saw nobody else performing especially well and too many key men having nightmare afternoons.
Unfortunately for the former Crystal Palace man the watching Gareth Southgate may have focused as much on the late Adam Idah goal, which probably should go down as a Butland error, as he did the stunning first-half save.
All the same, given how much of a surprise it was that the 31-year-old was ultimately snubbed for the most recent England squad it would still be another shock if he was overlooked for the Euros in light of the subsequent surgery for Sam Johnstone.
The third goal threatened to throw the game away and means it was, like with so many on the day, a mixed outing, but Butland can perhaps be excused over the likes of John Lundstram and Goldson when he had already done such strong work earlier on.
The fight back to level twice and take a point with a stunning Rabbi Matondo equaliser was very impressive, but it can’t be ignored how poor it was to be in such a difficult position in the first place, and without the quality from the keeper that has put him in line for a possible £20million bid it would have been far worse.
In other Rangers news, Chris Sutton has admitted one Gers player changed the game completely when Celtic had been dominant.
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