adminRangers move to within two points of their Old Firm rivals with a 1-0 victory at Celtic Park
Ryan Naderi had an ankle which was in a mess.
Yet, whatever the damage he overcame, it’s nowhere near the trouble the striker caused Celtic. Rangers might have been unhappy at the tackle from Mika Baur the previous week which pained Naderi, yet he picked the perfect way to transfer the hurt.
The German-born star’s fourth of the season inflicted a huge physical and psychological blow for his team as they secured a second win in a week over their biggest rivals. Derek McInnes lost the last league title on his previous trip to Celtic Park with Hearts. This time, he might just have reversed the fortunes on this one with his new team.
McInnes noted his Rangers stars sipping coffees in the build up. It might well be something stronger now after completing an intoxicating Derby double as Celtic stagger around at the moment looking drunk.
Martin O’Neill has a CV full of crucial wins over Rangers, yet just when he needed a new one, he suffered more misery. Questioned and scrutinised heading into it, the iconic boss has never been under more attention during his spells.
In the past, he’s had answers, but, right now, as his disjointed team looked mismatched and came off second best to the Light Blues again, the magic is fading and it’s the same for his side’s advantage at the top of the table which is now down to just two points. Celtic could do nothing about Naderi’s strike as McInnes and his team had no issues with no fans.
They had opportunities to win by more, but their attacker’s finish was enough to fend off an early Celtic push and secure it. O’Neill craved a quick start and Austin Trusty volleyed into the net inside the opening moments only for a flag to rule the strike out due to the fact Liam Scales had strayed offside.
Rangers defender Emmanuel Fernandez was booked early after knocking over Camilo Duran and the home fans demanded red card after another challenge on Benjamin Nygren. A frantic opening half an hour was ended by Kieran Tierney clipping the top of the crossbar with a powerful shot.
However, seconds later, McInnes’ men took the lead. Kim Munsu’s shot from the edge of the box after a corner was partly cleared was parried by Viljami Sinisalo and Naderi reacted to sweep home the rebound.
The home crowd was silenced and Rangers almost doubled their lead within seconds after Djeidi Gassama sent a clever chip against a post with Kevin Kelsy’s rebound blocked. Home silence had turned to boos at the half-time whistle, yet Ivan Pandur needed to produce a brilliant save to deny Colby Donovan heading a back-post equaliser within seconds of the restart.
Nonetheless, Rangers’ threat remained. James Penrice, Naderi and Minsu all had chances at a clincher and Olwethu Makhanya thought he had it with a half volley 16 minutes from time only for VAR to intervene and spot the South African’s handball before the effort. However, it made little difference. Celtic huffed and puffed through the final stages, but never really threatened to cause damage and Rangers saw it through for a sixth-straight win. Here are Record Sport’s five talking points…
Del of a touch
Mastering Celtic is the key for any Rangers manager and McInnes is delivering. The boss got it spot on seven days previously when he came up with the perfect strategy to expose Celtic’s failings and the intrigue when it started came about whether he’d go with the same idea. The same starting line-up was named and any temptation to alter was ignored. It was the right call. He’s found the key.
Luke of a loser
O’Neill had hinted towards changes in shape and personnel and there were some major calls. Luke McCowan’s inclusion was the most-obvious of the talking points within the revised shape and system with Auston Trusty also recalled.
There was no doubting that after Ibrox and Ferencvaros, the manager had to try something and it was a drastic change. McCowan’s withdrawal at the interval showed it didn’t work. Nor did the raft of second-period changes. It was disjointed, to say the least.
The signs are good
The acid test for a new signing in Glasgow is their ability to handle this fixture and the captures made by McInnes in his engine room have settled into it with ease. Dan Neil and James Penrice bring different qualities, but in with Nico Raskin, the pair combined energy with composure. Kim Minsu was another industrious worker with quality and, while Celtic barely started with one of the summer signings, McInnes is getting plenty from his recruits across the park.
Need to change attack
Daizen Maeda made an appearance 10 minutes prior to kick-off as he returned to say goodbye properly to the home supporters after leaving for Ipswich and the home fans could have done with him pulling a strip on. Camilo Duran was handed the starting role and, following the opening-period blank, he was joined from the bench by Kasper Hogh for the restart.
However, for the second straight Rangers game, nothing on the scoresheet. Celtic are struggling to get their forwards into scoring positions and quite why it took until the 89th minute for Shumaira Mheuka to enter the fray was puzzling.
Frazzled Fernandez
The defender is a mixed bag and seemed unsettled during a turbulent opening. One minute strong one-on-one defending against Duran, the next a booking for decking the Colombian. Fernandez then gave away a needless corner which he then towered to clear with a superb header before a clumsy challenge on Nygren had the home fans howling for a red card. At that stage, he could have been sent off by the ref or taken off by his manager. But, with backline colleagues Olwethu Makhanya and Dijon Sterling terrific at his side, he was able to regain his composure and get through when it could have ended quickly.
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