James Tavernier ‘absolutely delighted’ with what Celtic did vs Rangers
James Tavernier has had a tough start to the season at Rangers.
Tavernier has been in and out of the Gers starting eleven to start the season under Russell Martin, with the captain being dropped after scoring in Rangers’ 1-1 draw at Motherwell.
While out of the line-up, Tavernier has seen his side implode, as Rangers are yet to win in the Scottish Premiership this season, drawing each of their games 1-1.
The right-back was brought on as a first-half substitute following Max Aarons’ red card in Rangers’ 6-0 humiliation at Club Brugge in the Champions League.
Restored to the line-up for Rangers’ Old Firm 0-0 draw with Celtic, the Englishman will be delighted after what Brendan Rodgers decided to do.
Celtic deploy Daizen Maeda down the middle with little effect
Celtic were incredibly poor in the Old Firm at Ibrox, allowing Rangers to dominate the first half.
The Gers threatened to break the deadlock, seeing John Souttar’s header ruled out for offside, while Rodgers’ side looked uncharacteristically timid without Adam Idah leading the line.
Daizen Maeda was dumped up front for the clash, and struggled to make an impact out of position, as Celtic look toothless for the third time in four games after failing to score over two legs against Kairat Almaty.
| Daizen Maeda vs Rangers | Total |
| Pass accuracy | 50% (9/18) |
| Successful dribbles | 2 |
| Dispossessed | 2 |
| Touches | 33 |
Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonner has criticised the decision, claiming Tavernier must be “absolutely delighted” he isn’t up against the Japanese international.
Bonner said: “James Tavernier must be absolutely delighted he’s not up against Daizen Maeda.”
Rangers have improved from their midweek collapse
Although Celtic were poor, that shouldn’t take credit away from Rangers after how bad they were in Belgium on Wednesday night.
Old Firm clashes always seem to bring the best out of the Gers in recent times, especially at Ibrox, and their improvement defensively from midweek is astonishing.
However, they need to find some consistency, and more importantly, a winning streak, as the pressure is still intense on Martin from the Rangers fans.
Sign up for the Ibrox News WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking Rangers news sent straight to your phone.