Celtic did not have a good weekend. They lost their second-straight Glasgow Derby against the Rangers and this one will sting even more than the last one as this result came at home. It is not what the fans expected from the Hoops. They had hoped for a reaction to the 3-0 defeat at Ibrox from earlier this year but this was completely the opposite.
Coming into the game, the Rangers were expected to be tired, having played over 120 minutes of football in midweek in the Europa League against Fenerbahce. Instead, Celtic looked lethargic to start off the game while the visitors were flying.
Celtic deserve credit for turning things around after the break and managing to score twice in the second half to make it 2-2. But then, all of that good work was quickly undone as the Hoops conceded a third goal late on and could not find the equaliser again, as it finished 3-2 in favour of the Rangers.
Not a lot of Celtic players impressed on the day. Nicolas Kuhn was subbed off at half-time. Something rare for someone who was being considered the club's player of the season not too long ago.
Celtic player blamed for causing the team problems vs Rangers
On the other hand, Kasper Schmeichel has been blamed for causing Celtic issues at the back with his distribution. Tam McManus wrote on X:
Rangers got the tactics & formation spot on. Should really be out of sight at half time excellent performance. Celtic despite being 16 points clear look a bag of nerves! Schmeichel causing lot of problems at back with his distribution and Kuhn has bottled it v Ridvan. Idah on?
— Tam McManus (@The_Tman10) March 16, 2025
Schmeichel has mostly been great for Celtic since arriving in the summer as a free agent. But one cannot deny that he did appear to struggle against the Rangers on the day.
Of course, the best thing to do right now is to look ahead. Celtic still have a couple of trophies to play for and this is not the end of the world for the Hoops, even if it feels like that.
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