Glasgow Rangers’ bid to win their first Scottish Premiership title since the 2020/21 season suffered a blow after Sunday’s draw.
The Light Blues have not lifted a trophy since Steven Gerrard led them to glory behind closed doors almost five years ago, but are currently six points off the top of the table with nine games in hand.
Danny Rolle’s side led 2-0 at half-time against Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday, thanks to a brace from Youssef Cermiti, and a win could keep them within four points of league leaders Hearts.
Unfortunately, however, the Gers were unable to maintain their lead in the second half, and the game ended in a 2-2 draw with one point, making it their third draw in three league games.
In the end, these failures for the Gers against Celtic, Livingstone and Motherwell could be the difference between winning the title and finishing second or third.
What went wrong in Rangers vs Celtic?
Despite some heroics from Mikey Moore and Chelmiti, particularly in the first half, Rangers were unable to pick up all three points in front of their own supporters on Sunday.
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One of the reasons Gers didn’t win the game was that they were too passive after the break, allowing Celtic more possession and more opportunities to create chances and score goals.
That was illustrated by the fact that Celtic finished the game with 55% possession at Ibrox after Rangers led 2-0 at half-time. We didn’t have enough ball control to decide the game.
Rohr may be partly to blame for not introducing Mohamed Diomande in place of Ryan Naderi in midfield until Kieran Tierney was back in goal, but his players must also take responsibility for not looking after the ball enough.
Several players couldn’t step up and couldn’t perform as needed to develop the game in the second half. And one of Ger’s flops looks like Ibrox’s newest addition, Cyriel Dessers.
Rangers’ flop looks like the latest Dessers at Ibrox
It’s no exaggeration to say that Dessers polarized opinion during his two-year spell at Ibrox. Because he scored a lot of goals and missed a lot of big chances to get important points for the club.
The Nigerian centre-forward scored 34 goals in 73 Premiership appearances for Rangers, but missed a whopping 47 ‘big chances’ in the process. He was too wasteful in front of goal and was not a reliable striker, making him a burden for the team at times.
Now, John Souter is fast becoming the latest incarnation of the former Gers centre-forward at Ibrox, as defensive mistakes have made him unreliable in recent weeks.
The Scotland international was one of the Rangers players who set the tone for a sloppy second half against Celtic, giving away unnecessary free-kicks and kicking the ball straight into the air with little pressure.
Soutard was given two fouls and finished the game with a passing accuracy of just 80%, 10% below his season average. When Gers needed a centre-back to improve their reliability and settle the game, he put even more pressure on their own half with poor passes and sloppy fouls.
Sarter | vs livingston | vs Celtic |
|---|---|---|
minutes | 73 | 90 |
Won a ground duel | 2/5 | 2/4 |
tackle win | 1 | 0 |
Number of fouls committed | 2 | 2 |
dribbled past | 1x | 0x |
progressive carry | 0 | 0 |
Pass accuracy | 92% | 80% |
Against Livingston, his passing wasn’t as bad as against Celtic, completing 92% of his passes, but the central defender conceded two free-kicks, both of which led to goals for the team, who are bottom of the league at 2-2 last time out.
Described as “really sloppy” by Rangers Journal’s Kai Watson against Livingston, Souter has yet to prove himself reliable at the heart of a defense as Rangers needed a strong presence to pick up key points in the title race.
Just as Rangers could not rely on Dessers to play efficiently in front of goal, the Light Blues cannot rely on the Scottish defender not to give away ‘sloppy’ free-kicks to avoid loose possession in big games.
It’s not his fault alone, but Gers haven’t won a league title since signing Souttar from Hearts in 2022, and that may not change this season as his recent mistakes in defense have cost them points.
With this in mind, signing a new centre-back with partner Emmanuel Fernandes for the 2026/27 season and beyond should be a priority for Rohr and his recruitment staff.
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