Philippe Clement has not won a Glasgow Derby since being appointed the manager of the Rangers more than a year ago, back in October of 2023. So far, he has won one trophy. That was the Scottish League Cup, which he lifted months into his run at Ibrox. His team failed to defend their title this time around though, losing the final to Celtic on penalties after Ridvan Yilmaz proved to be the only one to miss from the spot.
The match was tighter than most had expected, considering the one-sided nature of the Glasgow Derbies in recent seasons. It had ended 3-3 after 120-plus minutes of action.
Clement's side did well to keep up with Celtic and equalised twice in the second half to make sure that it finished all square. But ultimately, they did not have enough in the tank to get the better of Celtic, who were clearly having a bad day at the office and did not have any real standout performers in the final.
One big moment in which the Rangers fluffed their lines was when they had a 4v1 opportunity but Cameron Carter-Vickers ended up intercepting. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Clement said to the club's official channel:
"Yeah it’s a massive moment. And that’s a really disappointing one that we made the wrong choice there because, on the left side, we have two players free.
”If Hamza [Igamane] slows down his tempo and then gives this ball then it’s impossible to defend.
”So yeah that’s also for sure a crucial point in the game but yeah, I think we grabbed a lot of moments in this game.
”Of course, we’re going to show that one also to the team to make it better for the future."
Philippe Clement can't hide real reason Rangers lost vs Celtic
That was clearly a huge moment that the Rangers could not make the most of. And these are the situations that end up separating the contenders from the champions.
The truth of the matter is that the Rangers were able to take Celtic to their limit on the day. That being said, the Hoops did struggle on the day and yet, Clement's side could not get the job done.
It is very possible that Celtic end up plugging a few holes in their squad in January and become even stronger in the second half of the season. That should be a scary thought for teams around the league.