Match Reports

country flag Premiership Round 21
Rangers 1 - 0 Celtic
Sat 29 December 2018 12:30

Rangers

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Celtic

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Celtic

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Game Report

Highlights

Rangers totally overpowered Celtic as they overcame their rivals 1-0 at Ibrox. From start to finish, Rangers had more bite all over the pitch, whilst their rivals failed to settle into the atmosphere. Jack's deflected goal settled things, but Rangers should already have been a couple ahead beforehand. Celtic offered no response, as they remained far too passive in the midfield through Brown and Ntcham, who woefully underperformed.

Detail

Rangers came out firing, and pressed Celtic high up the pitch. It led to a bunch of errors from Gordon and Boyata respectively, as the home side won a bunch of set-pieces that threatened to see them open the scoring.

The cross-ball was causing Celtic countless problems, with Rangers' set-pieces combined with their width giving the Hoops no respite. Morelos struck the post with a glancing header after Goldson's powerful nod towards goal was palmed away by Gordon. Candeias was also denied by the Celtic goalkeeper.

Yet Rangers continued to exploit the flanks, and got the opener they deserved on 30 minutes. Kent cut inside as Lustig committed himself. After laying it off to Jack, themidfielder's shot deflected in off Brown for 1-0.

Rangers continued to threaten before the break through the industrious Kent. He curled an effort wide that just didn't have enough curl on it. Rangers were bossing it heading into half-time.

Celtic tried to play their passing game at the start of the second 45, but again the high press made them make countless errors, particularly through the nerve-striken Boyata. Kent dispossessed him, before being denied when one-on-one with Gordon.

Again, Rangers looked to get high and low crosses into the Celtic penalty area. Both Kent and Jack were denied by Gordon, who was in impressive form.

Celtic just couldn't string anything efficient together. Ntcham and Brown were far too ponderous, with too many passes going astray and lifting Ibrox.

Despite the game reaching the closing stages, there still wasn't enough from Celtic. They only had any joy when McGregor came roaming into the midfield with possession and linked with Christie. He did have the ball in the set after being slid in by Christie, but it was flagged for offside.

Rangers remained dominant heading into the final stages. Morelos did a fantastic job of keeping the Celtic defence at bay, and the Ibrox side held on for a famous win.

Summary

Rangers were just the hungrier and more cleaner side from start to finish. Their passing was crisp, whilst they had bite in the challenge. The likes of Jack, Halliday, and Morelos really dug in and never gave Celtic a minute, and it could've been a lot more on another day. Rodgers will rue keeping the likes of McGregor limited at left-back, whilst Brown and Ntcham didn't have pace in their passing. Too many flair players were also off it, as the likes of Christie, Forrest, and Sinclair struggled to ever get into the game. A dreadful day for Celtic.

Key

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