Celtic 2-1 Rangers: Three things we learned

By Ethan Barlow

A wintery Celtic Park was the venue for the latest Old Firm (Image: Getty Images)

With a pair of stunning Celtic goals, one in each half, James Tavernier’s late free-kick rocket turned out to be just a consolation as Philippe Clement fell to defeat for the first time in his Rangers tenure. Brendan Rodgers and Celtic march on to their third consecutive win, after back-to-back losses in the league. Here are some of the key takeaways from the match:

Celtic prove they are still the team to beat in Scotland

In recent weeks, Celtic had fallen off the pace, as the performances weren’t convincing and then fell to two league defeats in the space of a week, away to Kilmarnock and then at home to Hearts. On the other hand, Rangers had found form and were unbeaten under their new manager, and probably went into the match as slight favourites. Celtic’s victories and style of victories over Livingston and Dundee would have given them confidence going into the match but cliché to say, form goes out the window in this fixture.

There wasn’t much between the two teams, but Celtic were clinical, and Rangers weren’t. Celtic had most of the play and the chances before Paulo Bernardo’s well-struck 25th-minute volley gave the home side the lead after the Benfica loanee hit the side-netting moments beforehand. Cyriel Dessers should have levelled before the break, as he had the freedom of Celtic Park, but took way too long to release a shot while one-on-one with Joe Hart as Alistair Johnston recovered to thwart the Nigerian. Johnston was also involved in a Rangers penalty claim when he handled the ball, but there was an offside in the build-up.

In the second half, Celtic started very quickly and doubled their lead when Kyogo Furuhashi unleashed an unstoppable strike from outside the box, on his weaker side. Already two goals up, Celtic would soon find themselves a man up when Leon Balogun was shown a straight red card for a denial of Daizen Maeda’s goalscoring opportunity. It looked like the game may quietly peter out but James Tavernier’s second Celtic Park free kick in the space of a year, gave Rangers a lifeline but Celtic would hold on to clinch a victory which puts them back in the driving seat.

Bernardo could be a crucial player for the remainder of the season

Paulo Bernardo has now scored in two consecutive games after he opened the scoring against Dundee and seems to have hit form at the right time for Celtic. Since Bernardo’s loan move from Portugal, he hasn’t been able to stamp his authority in Celtic’s best 11, but now with a regular run in the team, can he compete with the returning Reo Hatate for the second number eight position alongside the undroppable Matt O’Riley?

Bernardo hitting a shot from distance (Image: Getty Images)

Since Hatate’s injury, he picked up at home to Atletico Madrid, no player has stamped their name consistently in Rodgers’ starting eleven, as many central midfield options have been tried alongside O’Riley and captain, Callum McGregor. Here are some of the players who have played in the centre of midfield: Tomoki Iwata (injured at home to Feyenoord), David Turnbull and Odin Thiago Holm (recently back from injury). You would probably have to see more from the 21-year-old to suggest that Celtic were going to buy him permanently, but scoring against your biggest rivals never does you any harm.

Cyriel Dessers isn’t the answer for Rangers

It’s no secret that these fixtures usually come down to the finest of margins, and on this occasion, they did. Celtic weren’t clearly better than Rangers, they were just more clinical. If Rangers had walked away with something from the match, no one would have said it was undeserved, but when you can’t take your chances, you leave yourself with little chance especially when Kyogo’s on the opposition. The Japanese international has now scored seven in his last six Old Firm starts and puts in a strong case as the best Celt since Henrik Larsson.

Dessers has had a lot of criticism aimed his way since signing for the Gers, but after a decent run of form, the Rangers fans were starting to come round for the Europa Conference League finalist, but the disappointment of this game might have been the final nail in the coffin of his Rangers career. The chance he has at 1-0 in the first half has got to be a goal in this fixture, he is through on goal with plenty of time to decide what he’s going to do. But in the end, he doesn’t shoot nor pass and looks like he’s just waiting for the ball to be taken off him, which Johnston does. If Dessers isn’t scoring, he isn’t really offering much, and in both derby matches this season he’s started and contributed almost nothing to helping Rangers try and get a result.

Dessers flattered to deceive in the derby (Image: Getty Images)

Rangers’ early January signing, Fabio Silva, has been signed to solve their striker problem. Wolves’ former record signing struggled in England and on loan spells with Anderlecht and PSV after showing great potential at FC Porto. Philippe Clement will hope to get the best out of Silva in the six-month period before he inevitably goes back to Wolves, as Rangers are likely to be priced out of a permanent move for the 21-year-old.