Celtic accused of treating Old Firm contest 'like a friendly' after Rangers defeat

Celtic played like they were facing Rangers in a friendly, according to Sky Sports pundit Darren Fletcher.

Celtic defender Shane Duffy during the match at Celtic Park. Picture: SNS

The nine-time reigning champions were defeated 2-0 at Celtic Park by their arch-rivals with Connor Goldson grabbing both goals for Steven Gerrard’s men in victory.

The most worrying aspect for Neil Lennon and the club’s supporters was the lack of attacking impetus from the home side, who had just one shot on target throughout the 90 minutes.

Mohamed Elyounoussi spurned an early opportunity to equalise after Goldson broke the deadlock, while substitute Leigh Griffiths was let down by a heavy touch as he tried to round Allan McGregor, but other than that Celtic failed to trouble the visitors all that much.

Even after going 2-0 down the home team failed to rouse themselves into action in front of an empty stadium, with a lot of the play flat and unimaginative.

Fletcher said on the Sky Sports live broadcast after the final whistle: “We talked before the game about a derby with no fans. Rangers still played it like a derby today. You could see that in their work, both with and without the ball. Celtic played it like a friendly today; slow and passive.

“The biggest thing for me was the start of the second half. I was expecting Celtic to come out, be really aggressive, press, get after Rangers, raise the tempo themselves, and they didn’t do that.

“It was a really comfortable afternoon for Rangers, probably the most comfortable Old Firm game they’ve had in a long time.”

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