As Ibrox Noise sadly predicted, Rangers came up short again against Celtic. We now bring you our ratings for yet another bad result against our city rivals.
McGregor:
Had no chance with any of the goals, but his age told when he was unable to cover for Souttar’s error. Made a couple of half decent saves, but he’s completely finished these days. 5
Tavernier:
Aside his two incredible goals it was actually his usual ineffective stuff really. A lack of good crosses, and his normal defending. Don’t let his goals fool you, he wasn’t good at all aside them and struggled repeatedly to contain Maeda. His passing was 64% and only 2 of his crosses actually got close. But of course goals are currency so he gets 7.
Souttar:
Will be blamed for a poor pass which cost a big goal, but was otherwise fairly solid frankly, surprisingly so for one so short on fitness. He has played worse in his career but this will be remembered for a bad error. 6
Davies:
Like Souttar, he actually had a mostly good game, but one lousy mistake undermined him as well. There’s not much more to add on either of them given it was an untested pairing. 6
Barisic:
Continues, quietly, to be one of our best performing players, securing an assist in here as well as defending solidly. Kept Jota mostly under (some) control and little got past him, but his passing rate wasn’t the best, like Tavernier’s. 7
Raskin:
Can be pleased with his Old Firm debut – wasn’t fazed by the occasion and worked as hard as anyone. Didn’t have a huge influence but he’s not that kind of player. Had a much better match than Lunny did at Hampden. 7
Jack:
He wasn’t in this one, at all. On this evidence, he’s falling badly short of the player he used to be, and one little bright performance at Easter Road isn’t enough to convince us he’s worth a new deal. 5
Cantwell:
Strangely set up by manager Michael Beale, the creative playmaker was perched on the right mostly as a sort of defensive midfielder. He worked hard, for sure, and was full of running, but was unable to influence the match with his possession and passing. Mainly because Celtic were close on him and snuffed him out. Probably his worst performance as a Rangers player, not helped by lack of quality around him, or the tactics. 6
Kent:
Very quiet today, didn’t have the influence he wanted although he did start bright. Looked a little short of confidence instead of taking men on and hitting shots. Faded badly as the match went on. 6
Tillman:
Once and for all, not up to the big matches. Went missing as always against Celtic, and for all he can do it against bread and butter SPL sides, Rangers players will always be judged in this fixture. Yet again fell short. He did, however, put in an ok shift defensively. 5
Morelos:
Gamble here, and it didn’t exactly backfire but Morelos got fewer touches than anyone else, even if he did work harder than we’re used to seeing. Wasted at least one massive chance (Colak would have buried it) but was absolutely done out of a completely legitimate goal. 6
Subs:
They made no difference to anything.
Manager:
Michael Beale had Goldson’s injury to deal with at the last minute, and frankly it changed the setup – the manager had to find a way to change how we play over the course of 18 hours, and he fell short of being able to. The system lacked Goldson’s possession fluidity, and there was no rear anchor to lead the defence. So, like Gio earlier this season, Beale wasn’t able to compensate for losing his vice-captain. But otherwise he went with the strongest team he actually had, so we have no complaints about the XI really. Even Morelos, who has played worse. But he left it too late AGAIN to make the changes, and wasn’t able to adapt to the match. Michael Beale fell short like the players did. 5