One Rangers player has been slammed by the media after an awful performance in his side’s 3-3 draw with Celtic, with one outlet saying he looked “lost” at Ibrox.
Rangers 3-3 Celtic
Philippe Clement’s side faced their most important game of the season so far on Sunday afternoon, hosting their biggest rivals in a huge top-of-the-table Scottish Premiership clash.
Rangers knew that a win would take them two points clear of Celtic at the top of the table, giving them a chance to open up a five-point advantage, but things didn’t pan out that way at all in a dreadful first half.
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A huge boost for the Gers.
The Gers found themselves 1-0 down in the first minute after James Tavernier’s attempted clearance flew into the net off Daizen Maeda, giving them an immediate uphill battle. Matt O’Riley then doubled the visitors’ advantage from the penalty spot after VAR had intervened, following a handball by Connor Goldson.
After the break, Rangers found themselves back in the game when Fabio Silva won a spot-kick – he was initially booked for diving – and Tavernier buried it emphatically. Soon after, Cyriel Dessers thought he had equalised, but there was a foul in the lead-up to the goal, much to the ire of those inside the stadium.
A late equaliser did come through Abdallah Sima, but Celtic restored their lead straightaway thanks to Adam Idah. In the end, Clement’s men did get a point thanks to Rabbi Matondo’s effort in injury time in what was a dramatic derby.
Rangers player slammed vs Celtic
Taking to X during the game, This Is Ibrox podcast slammed Silva’s performance against Celtic, with the Portuguese having little to no impact:
“Fabio Silva looks lost on this left side. Wouldn’t be surprised if we see an early change for Rangers.”
Meanwhile, Chris Sutton called the decision to award Silva a penalty “embarrassing”, even though he was eventually deemed to have been fouled.
While Silva’s influence did admittedly grow in the second half, not least winning the penalty, this was a display that was hugely disappointing overall, and it was only right that he was substituted with a quarter of the game remaining. According to SofaScore, the Portuguese completed just 53% of his passes, also losing possession 16 times in total, and he failed to complete a single successful dribble or contribute defensively.
Not only was the Rangers loanee frustrating in his general play, but he was also arguably guilty of going to ground far too easily, and you could sense the supporters growing tired of him constantly being on the turf.
