Chris Sutton raises concern after what happened in Rangers 3-0 Celtic
Chris Sutton believes the performance that Celtic put on against Rangers on Thursday will be a “concern” for Brendan Rodgers.
The Gers ended up as 3-0 winners in the Old Firm derby on 2 January in a game in which many thought they didn’t have a chance.
Philippe Clement’s men remain second in the Scottish Premiership table and, while the deficit between themselves and Celtic was taken down to 11 points, it’s still a fairly steep hill for the Gers to climb.
Writing in his column for The Daily Record (4 January), ex-Celtic man Sutton shared his thoughts on the Old Firm derby.
“Brendan Rodgers said in the build up there is no such thing as a dead rubber derby in Glasgow. Rangers didn’t play like it was one at Ibrox – but Celtic did. You could say this one had shades of the Michael Beale 3-0 win after Ange Postecoglou had wrapped up the title a few years ago,” he wrote.
“The difference is Celtic haven’t yet crossed the Premiership finishing line this year. In fact, there is still a long, long way to go. We’re only at the halfway stage, for goodness sake. Celtic have a huge 11 point lead, and no one really expects them to lose it from here.
“But this is perhaps a bit of a kick up the backside that can sometimes come in handy. Yes, Rangers were good. They totally deserved their victory and you have to give them credit. The pressure would have been on with the prospect of going 17 points behind.
“But they played with a ferocity that suggested it meant something to them and that’s back to back games against Celtic when they’ve scored three goals. That must be a concern for Rodgers. It’s also easier to turn up when the pressure is off. Rangers had to beat St Mirren and Motherwell to have a chance of cutting the gap here.”
Later in the article, Sutton brought up the potential of the Bhoys walking away with a treble this season.
“In the meantime [Philippe Clement] can enjoy a win and Celtic need to lick their wounds. Look, I’ve been there. Our Celtic team got battered 5-1 at Ibrox remember. What happened that year again? Oh yes, we went on to win the Treble.”
Rangers need to capitalise on their victory against Celtic
The Gers surprised everyone when they beat Celtic 3-0 on Thursday in the third Old Firm derby of the season.
With their prior results to the game against their arch-rivals ending in the Ibrox outfit dropping points to the likes of St Mirren and Motherwell, most expected Brendan Rodgers’ men to come out on top.
Evidently, that wasn’t the case and it feels like this latest Old Firm could end up being a real turning point in the season for Rangers.
Of course, the title is still way out of reach due to the 11 points that separate the two sides, but it feels like this result against Celtic could spur them on to do well in other competitions such as the Europa League.
Indeed, these are all ifs, buts and maybes at the moment and nothing is guaranteed, but if Clement can get his men to play like that each week, it could end up being a rather interesting season for them.
In other Rangers news, Tom English has raved over the performance of Jefte against Celtic.
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