Coming into the Glasgow Derby, the Rangers had dropped five points in their previous two games. As a result, Celtic were being viewed as heavy favourites going into the contest but not many would have predicted what transpired at Ibrox. In a completely one-sided game, Philippe Clement's side won 3-0 against a team they had not defeated in a long time.
Celtic fans will be hoping that this proves to be a one-off bad performance. But the writing had been on the wall for a little while.
Celtic's recent performances had not been great. They quite clearly are not matching the heights that they hit earlier in the season.
Chris Sutton is a vocal supporter of Celtic in the media. But he did not have any complaints about the result at Ibrox. He wrote:
"No complaints. Celtic as flat as anything. Rangers deserved it and were better in every department. It’s a testament to Brendan Rodgers and the team the run they’ve been on and the standards set. Never a bad thing to get a reality check. Winning titles is hard. Still work to do…"
Chris Sutton's immediate reaction to Celtic loss vs Rangers
Hopefully, this result ends up being a wake up call to Celtic. It did feel like a bit of complacency was seeping into the recent performances. Even after this loss at Ibrox, they have a remarkable 11-point lead in the league table.
But there are Glasgow derbies left to be played and over the previous two ones, the Rangers have been the better team and by some distance. So, it is time for Celtic to take a look in the mirror and try to get back to their best.
The January transfer window does give them a good opportunity to do that. The club need to bring a few fresh faces and improve in a few positions. And then they can only hope that these additions end up doing the trick. They do not have a tough road ahead but still, they need to get over that finish line and secure the league title. Nothing can be taken for granted.