Celtic player admits he enjoyed keeping Ibrox quiet

Celtic might not have brought big-name players this summer, but there are certainly a whole host of new faces at the club right now after nine additions were made in the recently concluded transfer window. And it could have been a tough early test at Ibrox for new signing Gustaf Lagerbielke. Instead, it looks like he found the setting nowhere near as difficult as he expected.

Lagerbielke has been given no chance to settle down since signing for the Hoops in mid-August. Injuries to several key defenders have meant that he has been a starter from the get-go.

With the Swedish season getting underway back in April, fortunately, he was fit and ready to play. He and Liam Scales proved to be an unexpected but secure and effective pairing at Ibrox.

Lagerbielke was of course involved in a key incident in the first half when a goal by Kemar Roofe was ruled out after VAR checks for a foul on the Swedish defender by Cyril Dessers. That added to the pressure the two Celtic defenders were under in this vital match, coming after some disappointing results for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

Celtic player admits he enjoyed keeping Ibrox quiet

It looks like Ibrox didn’t quite have the atmosphere that Lagerbielke had been expecting. As reported by Glasgow Times, he said:

"“It was nice to keep Ibrox quiet.“It was an awesome experience. I had been given a little warning about what it would be like, but it was kind of cooler than I thought.“It was very important that we won.”"

Kyogo Furuhashi added a quiet moment at the end of the first half when his strike from outside the box rocketed past the Rangers goalkeeper and gave Celtic a 1-0 lead. The stadium was very hushed then and perhaps that’s part of what was in Lagerbielke’s mind. The crowd did get noisier as the match went on, and ended with a loud chorus of boos at full-time.

Lagerbielke is off to a decent start at Celtic. He has still got plenty to learn but will continue to develop. He will be expected to keep his place while other centre-backs recover from their injuries. Right now he is with the Sweden national team, which will also help build his experience of big games.