Why Rangers still have a long way to go to catch Celtic
Steven Gerrard’s 12-game unbeaten run as Rangers manager came to an end in the Old Firm derby last weekend when Celtic won the contest 1-0 at Celtic Park.
The clash was portrayed as a game between Gerrard and his former manager at Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers and it was the latter that came out victorious on Sunday. It was a game that was dominated by Celtic from the first blow of the whistle till the last but the scoreline didn’t do any justice to the hosts’ supremacy.
Rodgers’ men hit the woodwork four times, while they also missed some gilt-edged chances. It was a sublime team move for the goal, with Olivier Ntcham applying the finishing touch, although Ryan Jack was fouled in the build-up to the winner.
Nevertheless, Celtic deserved all the plaudits for their performance and most importantly the result at Celtic Park, where Rangers were simply the second best in every department.
Rangers’ defeat at the hands of Celtic showed there is still some way for Gerrard to go if he is to end his Glasgow rivals’ dominance in Scotland. The loss at Celtic has left Rangers with just five points from four games – the club’s worst start since the 1889/90 campaign.
Gerrard has signed more than a dozen players at Rangers this term with a view to ending Celtic’s dominance in Scotland. Under Gerrard, the Gers have done really well in the last couple months or so. They have battled hard to book a place in the Europa League group stages and Gerrard deserves massive credit for the way he has shaped up this team.
But his Rangers side had a massive chance to make a real statement against Celtic last weekend. Gerrard’s boys were completely pummeled, but thanks to goalkeeper Allan McGregor’s heroics and Celtic’s bad luck the scoreline stayed respectable after the end of 90 minutes.
For all the optimism generated by winning three Europa League qualifying rounds, the game at Celtic Park mirrored the gulf of quality between the two Glasgow giants. It proved to be an unlucky number 13 for Gerrard, who was finally given a reality check of the size of the job he has on his hands, trying to re-establish Rangers as a dominant force in Scottish football and genuine title challengers.
Read more: Well done Gerrard – Rangers’ decision to tie down £1m star to a new deal could be a masterstroke
It is not all doom and gloom for Gerrard though. Rangers have shown really good progress under the former England international but the fact is that they still remain a country mile behind their arch-nemesis, Celtic.
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