Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers thinks there were ‘many reasons’ behind the Hoops’ dismal derby defeat at Ibrox this afternoon.
The Bhoys were embarrassed at the home of their fiercest rivals, with Ianis Hagi, Robin Propper, and Danilo all scoring for Rangers in a rare Glasgow derby triumph.
The visitors didn’t look up to it from the off and were rightly punished for a sub-par performance. It was very unlike Celtic to show as little heart and desire, especially on derby day, as they did this afternoon.
Post-match, boss Rodgers sought to explain the reasons behind only his second defeat to Rangers across his two spells at Parkhead.
The Irishman thinks a vast array of issues contributed towards the loss: “It was not a very good performance,” he said (BBC).
“We made too many mistakes, especially in the first half on the ball. That invited pressure. We trapped ourselves in too many areas.
“From that, 1-0, it gives the stadium a lift. Rangers were the better team today. It was very unlike us. We were not aggressive enough without the ball. Too many duels [lost] and moments where they could then break out of pressure. On the ball, it was far too slow.
“The game is a disappointment. I’m not sure if the 14-point gap took the edge off, it shouldn’t, but maybe subconsciously it can do. We did not play well and Rangers deserved to win.
“It was one of those days. They are not robots. The energy in the stadium, they wanted to prove a point, they hadn’t beaten us, and they are so far behind in the league, so there are many reasons why.”
Celtic must bounce back against St. Mirren this Sunday.
They remain 11 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership and can at least maintain said advantage with a victory over the Buddies this weekend.
Make no mistake, though: they were miles off it today, and the loss should raise vast concerns.
Rodgers may be happy that there is no traditional Scottish football winter break this season because his team has the opportunity to recover rapidly from this afternoon’s defeat.
The first of nine games in January alone is now behind them. 2025 got off to the worst possible start for the champions, although, as they say, things can only get better.
If you think your going to get stuck by a middle hard to keep your mind on the game zMcGregor took Celtic first corner this season cause he seen the coins and other things thrown as a captain he stepped forward he was gang up on end of first half trying to get him another booking but he knew what was what and just laughed at risking and his gang even had clement coming onto pitch which is not allowed to try and force Robertson into giving him yellow even the most biased ref couldn’t do it but I’m sure intimation even punter boyd said in morning column he reared it would turn ugly if Champions (Celtic) score first he couldn’t bring himself to say Celtic just says if the Rangers don’t score first goal he feared the game would turn ugly
What Brendan is saying, then, is that his team can’t handle a pressured and hostile atmosphere. In fact, the Ibrox side should have lifted the League Cup a couple of weeks ago after similarly overwhelming this Celtic team. It was thanks to a VAR mistake to decide things in Celtic’s favour. Today was even worse, the entire team looked like rabbits caught in headlights, there was no maturity and absolutely zero quality. No excuses please and thank you, Brendan, the Ibrox side has the measure of your team now; they know it stops functioning when the pressure is turned up. Also, Hatate has been awful for months and Idah was a complete waste of £8m. Get it sorted and stop with the excuses.
I think BR needs to have a look at himself and his staff before he points the finger at the team. He’s the one who picks, decides the tactics and substitutes. He failed abysmally on all fronts. Don’t know what game he was watching but certainly wasn’t the same as me. Hatate has been off the boil for a while, yes he pops up now and then to score but is it enough I don’t think so. Scales is a liability waiting to happen he cannot keep his arms, hands to himself always wrapping them around the opposition or yanking the shirt of their back. These two should have been off before half time and I couldn’t believe he made know changes even then because he would only have been replacing like for like and tactically it was already all wrong. Shocking display from all of them against a team that are utter crap. They had our number today and we payed for it with bad judgement and a woeful performance. I couldn’t give a hoop if were 30 points in front before this game that display was an utter shocker and embarrassment
Disgusted.