Celtic suffered a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to fierce rivals Rangers in Sunday afternoon’s League Cup quarter-final, a result that unceremoniously dumped Martin O’Neill’s side out of the competition. The Old Firm derby loss at Ibrox was marked by a particularly difficult outing for fan favourite Kieran Tierney, making his first start since August.
Tierney, who has played in 19 Old Firm derbies and made 230 appearances for Celtic, was named in the starting XI after a period of limited action. He had been absent from recent matches against Aberdeen and St Mirren this month, and was afforded just three minutes from the bench against St Johnstone. His return, however, proved to be far from a triumphant one.
Tierney’s difficult return
The defender was directly involved in Rangers’ opening goal, finding himself caught between goalscorer Dan Neil and Kim Min-su. Later, he appeared lost for the second Rangers goal, which Kevin Kelsy slotted home. Tierney’s struggles culminated in his substitution in the 80th minute.
His performance did not go unnoticed, with Celtic fan site 67 Hail Hail awarding him a dismal 2/10 rating. Reflecting on the display, 67 Hail Hail noted, “Kieran Tierney has had many great moments in this fixture, and this will be a serious low point. There are bigger issues around him, but that shouldn’t hide the fact that he struggled also.”
Collective failure for O’Neill’s side
While Tierney’s individual performance drew criticism, the overall team showing was equally dire. 67 Hail Hail described the display as “pathetic” and “dreadful,” going further to suggest it was “much worse” than a previous showing away at LASK. The fan site delivered a scathing assessment of the collective effort:
“One of the worst performances under Martin O’Neill’s stewardship, Celtic were out-thought, out-fought and out-classed against Rangers in the League Cup quarter-final at Ibrox.”
The player ratings from 67 Hail Hail paint a stark picture of a team that failed to perform on the big stage, with several players receiving exceptionally low scores:
- Kasper Hogh: 0/10
- Callum McGregor: 0/10
- Sebastian Tounekti: 0/10
- Mika Baur: 1/10
- Benjamin Nygren: 1/10
- Sam Johnstone: 2/10
- Cameron Carter-Vickers: 3/10
With the two Glasgow rivals set to meet again next weekend, the pressure will be immense on Martin O’Neill and his Celtic squad to deliver a vastly improved performance and restore some pride after such a comprehensive Old Firm defeat.
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