Ryan Naderi strike gives Rangers 1-0 win over Celtic at Celtic Park
Rangers beat Celtic 1-0 in the Old Firm derby at Celtic Park on Sunday as Ryan Naderi's goal proved decisive, leaving Celtic manager Martin O'Neill under pressure while Rangers boss Derek McInnes showed little outward emotion.
McInnes, who shook hands with a now beleaguered O'Neill after the final whistle, played down the result on radio, saying: "Just three points." "Three points closer to Celtic." The victory was the first time a Rangers manager has won his first two games against Celtic since Graeme Souness in 1986; McInnes was 15 years old at that time. Rangers were judged the better side overall but secured the win by only a single-goal margin.
O'Neill described the contest as having "not much between the sides", but the match report criticised Celtic as physically weak and mentally short on confidence, saying they were out-played, out-muscled and out-coached. The article noted a lack of robust midfield options, attributed in part to the club's recruitment, and observed the absence of wide attacking quality since players such as Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and the still unfit Jota and Nicolas Kuhn were available; former captain Scott Brown is reported as saying James Forrest is the best winger they have, and Forrest is 35-years-old.
The piece catalogued a string of recent damaging results for Celtic, referencing a 5-1 Champions League defeat by LASK, a 3-0 League Cup loss at Ibrox, and an early Europa League setback against Ferencvaros, describing those outcomes as removing confidence and momentum. Match-specific selection choices also came under scrutiny: starting Sebastian Tounekti at Ibrox last week was called an odd decision that was changed at half-time, Sam Johnstone in goal was said to have back-fired, and Luke McCowan's first start of the season ended with him substituted at half-time.
Rangers' young core were singled out for praise: Olwethu Makhanya was described as the most dominant defender for the second consecutive week and is 22, while 23-year-old Ryan Naderi was again the side's most effective attacker. Dan Neil, 24, and Nico Raskin, 25, were credited with influential midfield performances, and James Penrice, at 27, was the oldest player in Rangers' starting lineup; Celtic were noted to have six players older than Penrice. The reported average age of the line-ups was 24.4 for Rangers versus 26.7 for Celtic.
Match statistics cited in the report underlined Rangers' on-field superiority: they won 67.6% of aerial duels to Celtic's 32.4%, had eight shots to Celtic's one and six shots on target to Celtic's zero. Individual touch counts given were Camilo Duran eight, Kevin Kelsy 13 and Ryan Naderi 23. The account also said Celtic's club-record signing Kasper Hogh received little service after coming on and was portrayed as lacking belief.
The article contrasted McInnes's recent public critique of his squad—when he said they were "Not a possession team, not a pressing team, not a counter-attacking team" after an exit from Europe—with the current performance, suggesting those earlier perceived weaknesses have been addressed. McInnes's insistence on the league perspective was reiterated in his radio remarks: "Just three points." "Three points closer to Celtic."
