No desire or determination
The absolute bare minimum that is required in a derby match is fight and intensity. If you do not bring these to the table then you can’t expect to get much from it. Especially an Old Firm. From the very start Celtic were all over Rangers, bullying and out-fighting them in several positions. They hunted in packs of three or four, with each of them clearly showing a burning determination to win the ball back and keep it. Rangers’ players were passive and lacked all of the qualities that Celtic’s players showed. In the last two years Rangers have been dominant in this fixture. They’ve got a lot to improve on for the next derby date before the split. This result – and importantly performance – shows cause for concern at Ibrox.
What is up with Barisic?
It is never nice to single out individuals. Unfortunately, sometimes you cannot analyse a game without at least highlighting it, though. Let’s not get it wrong, the vast majority of the Rangers team were woeful and they let their club down. But what is wrong with Borna Barisic at the minute? He endured a nightmare first-half. He was out-fought and made to look silly on several occasions by Liel Abada, Matt O’Riley and Josip Juranovic as they attached at will down Rangers’ left. He was constantly caught out of position and his inability to stay steady on the ball stopped any rhythm Rangers did have when trying to build up their own attacks. What was he playing at for Celtic’s third? Certainly a night to forget for the Croatian. His form going forward must improve drastically or his position will need to be considered.
Morelos miss
Let’s not be overly harsh on Kemar Roofe – he was far from the reason Rangers were destroyed in this match. However, there is no doubt that star man Alfredo Morelos was a huge miss in this game. Roofe did his best to hold the ball up and bring his team-mates into play, but this is probably Morelos’ main strength. The Colombian usually has some sort of impact in the Old Firm games. Whether he would’ve had a great enough impact to change the complexion of this game is a bit of a stretch, but he would’ve made some sort of difference in the overall confidence of Rangers.
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