Celtic player ratings as Scales suffers a Rangers nightmare and Calmac out his comfort zone
Brendan Rodgers' near flawless record in the Old Firm derby was rocked after a dismal Celtic display saw them torn apart in a 3-0 loss to Rangers at Ibrox.
The Irishman's team went into the game off a stellar run of 19 games without defeat in all competitions but were comprehensively dismantled by a side who still trail them by 11 points at the Premiership summit. Ianis Hagi struck the first blow after seven minutes after being allowed too much space to let fly from distance and despite boasting a wealth of experience all over the park, Celtic never truly recovered.
Their tame display was further punished 24 minutes from time when Robin Propper turned home a second before the Hoops' misery was further compounded on 81 minutes when Jefte left £11million Arne Engels for dead before substitute Danilo netted from the Brazilian's deflected effort. Teams can always have a day off at the office in football but the alarming way in which Rodgers' team quickly folded is bound to see a few harsh words shared at Lennoxtown before they host St Mirren on Sunday. Here's how we rated the Celtic players.
Kasper Schmeichel: Caught by surprise by Hagi’s early effort but made several smart stops as Gers threatened to run riot. 6
Alistair Johnston: Had a difficult time dealing with Hagi and didn’t have his usual influence up the other end of the pitch. 5
Cameron Carter-Vickers: One of the few Celts who was on it, tried to hold firm and produced an incredible tackle to prevent a second before being swamped. 5
Liam Scales: Had a nightmare from the off with a poor ball punished for the first setting the tone for several more ropey moments that followed. 4
Greg Taylor: The danger from Cerny curtailed the full back’s attacking intent and he had his work cut before eventually hooked. 4
Callum McGregor: Has bossed this clash for years but was right out of his comfort zone here and up against it with his midfield partners toiling. 5
Paulo Bernardo: Tough day at the office. Couldn’t cope with the pressing game and guilty of giving the ball away often. Eventually replaced. 4
Reo Hatate: Far too wasteful with the ball and it put his side on the back foot on the counter attack several times on a day to forget. 4
Daizen Maeda: Showed some signs of his blistering pace early on but too often his touch was heavy and he couldn’t take advantage. 4
Nicolas Kuhn: Looked to make things happen when on the ball but it didn’t happen often enough given the poor supply and ended with a bust nose too. 5
Kyogo: Took a fresh air swipe in the first few minutes but was starved of service for long spells and had a stunning effort ruled out for offside. 5
SUBS
Adam Idah (for Kyogo 65): Put himself about but game had already slipped away for Celts. 2
Alex Valle (for Taylor 65) His side were two goal before he got a touch and never got going. 2
Luke McCowan (for Bernardo 65) Task changed seconds after being introduced and couldn’t make much impact. 2
Arne Engels (for Hatate 75) Couldn’t turn the blue tide going the other way. 2
