We’ve already seen that Celtic are not handling being dethroned very well, that their chief executive, manager and now captain have all quit says it all about just how much of a beating they have taken this season.
The last two Old Firm derbies have painted their own picture, with them claiming some sort of moral victory for dominating periods of play despite Rangers more than matching them in xG – a more accurate depiction of chances created rather than just shots on goal – quality, not quantity if you like.
Time for the good, the bad, and the ugly from yesterday’s Celtic vs Rangers game. Non-penalty xG was 1.40 vs 1.32 according to Wyscout, with post-shot xG of 1.47 vs 0.98. The 1-1 draw was a reasonable result on a relative basis.
As I and many others commented after the game, pic.twitter.com/0vGdGHuPVf
— jucojames (@jucojames) March 22, 2021
The latest example of the great “stop the ten” conspiracy has seen John Kennedy and Scott Brown crying about a “stonewall” penalty not being given on Sunday despite footage clearly showing that Borna Barisic didn’t touch Odsonne Edouard, something that former Premier League whistler – and no fan of Rangers – Dermot Gallagher agreed with on Sky Sports, as reported by The Scottish Sun:
“It’s not a penalty and when you see the angle he has to yellow card him.
“If the referee isn’t giving a penalty he has to book the player for diving.
“It’s difficult to tell but the referee has the best view, he’s looking at the player.
“That’s the referee’s view and the angle shows the knees buckling, if you like, which wouldn’t say it was a trip.
“I think, in defence of Edouard, he sees the contact coming and he anticipates it – but the defender pulls out.”
They have turned into us from a few seasons ago, all ifs, buts and maybes, unable to rationally analyse even the most obvious of incidents with Brown even claiming his side were “exceptional” – they weren’t, Rangers simply allowed them to have the ball because we had played in a tough European tie just a couple of days earlier – that Celtic haven’t appealed the decision says it all.
It’s not taken them long to revert back to the “always cheated, never defeated” mantra, and I, for one, think is fabulous.