Rangers player ratings v Celtic: Jack Butland lets Philippe Clement down with 3/10 in defeat
Rangers missed the chance to secure a domestic double with a 1-0 defeat to Old Firm rivals Celtic at Hampden Park on Saturday 25 May.
Philippe Clement’s side thought they had taken the lead through Abdallah Sima early in the second half before it was ruled out for a foul on Joe Hart and that decision ultimately proved incredibly costly for the Light Blues.
The best chance of the game fell to Adam Idah to tap home in the final exchanges as Jack Butland dropped an effort straight onto the striker’s foot for him to tap home the stoppage-time winner.
Ibrox News have rated the players out of 10;
Jack Butland – 3
Having had so little to do for the majority of the game, the Gers keeper dropped the one effort that he needed to keep out to hand Idah the opener. The Englishman simply had to do better with what should have been a regulation strike. He has been so good this season, but he let his side down on Saturday.
James Tavernier – 6
After a slow start to the game which saw the Rangers captain caught out by a couple of long balls towards Daizen Maeda, he settled down quickly and put in one of his more impressive derby performances this season. His delivery from set-pieces caused plenty of issues and on another day he would have come away with a couple of assists.
Leon Balogun – 6
Balogun was an injury doubt, but the centre-back soldiered on to play a crucial part at Hampden Park. He threw his body on the line on a number of occasions and alongside Ben Davies worked incredibly hard to stop Celtic’s attacking talent from really producing many scoring opportunities but wasn’t able to hold on to the clean sheet.
Ben Davies – 5
The former Liverpool man may have been slightly fortunate to not concede a penalty in the first half, but he was part of a defence that worked incredibly hard to stop the Hoops frontline. However, that good work was undone as he was far too slow to close down the strike that led to Idah’s goal.
Ridvan Yilmaz – 6
Having been an injury doubt, the Turkish defender not only managed to start at Hampden but he played the full match as he barely put a foot wrong. Yilmaz could have impacted things more going forward, but he did what he had to do at the back to keep things solid and hard to break down.
Mohammed Diomande – 7
After it was confirmed that his stay at Ibrox would be made permanent this summer, the midfielder impressed both in and out of possession at Hampden. The 22-year-old showed his immense technical skill on the ball and battled to try and stifle Matt O’Riley and Callum McGregor. When Diomande hits this level, he can be one of the Light Blues’ best players but his influence did fade as the game wore on.
Nico Raskin – 6
For much of the game, the Belgian impressed with some good work out of possession, but he cost his side with one moment of madness in the second half as he pushed Hart out of the way before Abdallah Sima headed home. It was an unnecessary push and it ultimately proved incredibly costly for the Gers.
Todd Cantwell – 5
Once again, an Old Firm derby passed the Englishman by. While he was better than he was at Parkhead and Ibrox earlier this season, Cantwell was still unable to produce that moment of quality to break the deadlock before he was substituted in the second half. On top of that, he picked up a needless yellow card to top things off.
Dujon Sterling – 6
The Gers utility man spent the majority of Saturday’s game down the right flank and while he didn’t ever quite kick into his top gear, he did once again impress as he didn’t make a single mistake. As he always is, Sterling was Mr Reliable and did all he could to grab a hold of the game.
Fabio Silva – 4
Once again, a game passed the Wolves loanee by without him having a major impact on proceedings whatsoever. He had one half chance in the first half but his effort on goal was little more than a pass back that was easily stopped by Hart. Out of possession, he was as clumsy as ever as he went flying into tackles recklessly. Other than that, the Portuguese forward did very little in the game and finished his loan spell at Ibrox in a miserable fashion.
Will Cyriel Dessers leave Rangers in the summer transfer window?
Cyriel Dessers – 5
The Nigerian striker started the clash at Hampden but could only manage 45 minutes after picking up an injury in the first half. While he battled away well at the top of the pitch, he was unable to take the half chances that fell his way. His wait to have a major impact against Celtic runs on into next season.
Substitutes:
Abdallah Sima – 6
He thought he had won it, only for VAR to intervene.
Scott Wright – 6
Rabbi Matondo – 6
Ross McCausland – 6
John Lundstram – n/a
In other Rangers news, Jefte has been spotted at Hampden during the Light Blues’ clash at Hampden Park
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