Celtic were miles off it but remain 11 points ahead of Rangers | OneFootball

Celtic were anonymous this afternoon as they fell to a Glasgow Derby defeat to Rangers. The Scottish Champions could have gone 17 points clear at the top of the league with a win but the result cuts the gap to 11 points.

Philippe Clement’s side had to contend with a number of defensive absences but were the better team as they won 3-0. For Celtic, Brendan and his team will regroup ahead of Sunday’s game with St Mirren.

Rangers scored early through Hagi, who took a lay off from Raskin first time to beat Schmeichel from range. The turnover came from Liam Scales’ loose pass and that was to become a pattern as Celtic stuttered their way through the match. Nicolas Kühn was quiet and was left with a bloodied nose after Jefte threw an elbow towards the German before the end of the first 45.

Half time brought the teams in with the score at 1-0 but there wasn’t an expected reaction from Celtic. Kyogo had the ball in the net but it was correctly ruled out for offside. Celtic made the changes as they looked to get back into the game but moments after Adam Idah, Luke McCowan and Alex Valle came on, Propper slid in to score from a corner.

More mistakes followed and Rangers had chances. The flatness of the performance will need to be addressed by the manager as will his players’ inability to play through the Rangers midfield. Danilo benefitted in the 81st minute with a tap in after Celtic were, again, dispossessed due to some slack passing.

There were some disgraceful scenes near FT in the game as Arne Engels was struck by coins from the Broomloan Road Stand. There was a clear mark on the player’s face and once again, Celtic players and staff are targeted by the home supporters.

Celtic are 11 points clear and will look to bounce back. The manager will also look to use the January transfer window to add strength to his attacking options as well as left back.