Celtic’s attitude to yesterday’s Glasgow derby has been questioned after they were defeated 3-0 at Ibrox in a dismal display.
The Hoops were nowhere near the required level at the home of their fiercest rivals and were second to everything.
Ianis Hagi opened the scoring early doors before Robin Propper added a second just after the hour mark. Danilo wrapped things up late on.
It was a dominant display from the hosts, but serious concerns have to be raised about Celtic’s performance.
They showed no heart, desire, or will to win in a sorry display. Brendan Rodgers’ men couldn’t get anywhere near their opponents.
It was strange to see Celtic have such an off day in the Glasgow derby, and their attitude came under the spotlight after the match.
Indeed, former Rangers striker Steven Naismith, most recently manager of Hearts, questioned whether the Hoops were up for it: “Celtic looked as if they couldn’t be bothered,” he said (The Scottish Sun via Sportscene).
“They’ve been excellent under Brendan Rodgers from when he came back to now.
“The progression has been clear; they’re a million miles ahead of everybody [in Scotland].
“But today they lacked that edge, they looked as if they couldn’t be bothered because it’s been too easy for them.
“You’d have thought the cup final would have been the shock, and then they’d come into today and be up for it, but it just lacked that edge.”
It appears Celtic and Rodgers didn’t learn any lessons from the Premier Sports Cup final a few weeks ago. Rangers were on top for the majority of that game, and the Bhoys couldn’t deal with their mid-block.
Similarly, yesterday, that was once more the case as Philippe Clement got the better of his Parkhead counterpart for the first time in seven attempts.
