Rangers v Celtic player ratings: Four 9/10s, out-of-position maestros, the inspiration and savaged talismen

Marks out of ten for Rangers and Celtic players’ performance at Ibrox:

Rangers stormed to a convincing and well-deserved 3-0 win over Celtic at Ibrox in the Premiership.

Goals from Ianis Hagi, Robin Propper and Danilo gave manager Philippe Clement his first taste of victory in an Old Firm match, with the visitors well beneath their usual level.

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Rangers have trimmed the gap at the top of the table to 11 points after this win, although Celtic still hold a sizeable advantage in the title race.

We give each starter a mark out of ten and assess their performance in the latest Old Firm derby.

Rangers

Liam Kelly: Unflappable in his Old Firm debut as he deputised for the stricken Jack Butland. Calm throughout and made one smart save from Reo Hatate just before the break. 7

Ridvan Yilmaz: A really good performance considering he was playing on a foreign flank. Defended well and pushed forward at will, firing the trigger at Celtic goal on more than one occasion. 8

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Dujon Sterling: Strolled through his mission at centre-half, keeping both Kyogo Furuhashi and then Adam Idah very quiet. Bearing in mind centre-half is not his usual position, his efforts were highly commendable. 9

Robin Propper: The most experienced member of the Rangers backline, he held it all together and popped up at the back post to net the all-important second goal. The Ibrox lighthouse in a storm. 9

Liam Kelly celebrates Rangers' win over Celtic.Liam Kelly celebrates Rangers' win over Celtic.
Liam Kelly celebrates Rangers' win over Celtic. | SNS Group

Jefte: Played his part in the third goal by galloping forward and was able to get the better of Celtic’s in-form wide-man Nicolas Kuhn. 8

Mohamed Diomande: The Ivorian was full of energy, willing to harry and press his opponents from first minute until last. Had an endless tank of petrol and a nightmare for Celtic to play against. 9

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Nicolas Raskin: Asked to wear the captain’s armband in the absence of more senior player, the 23-year-old was outstanding, dominating the midfield battle and driving his team on to victory. 9

Vaclav Cerny: Always looked dangerous and was unlucky to crack the inside of the post during the second half. 8

Nedim Bajrami: A really clever performance from the Albanian, consistently finding pockets of space and keeping the attacks ticking over in the final third. Replaced by Danilo. 8

Ianis Hagi: Gorgeous technique to open the scoring with a precise left-footed effort and buzzed around the Ibrox pitch like his life depended on it. 8

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Ianis Hagi and Mohamed Diomande celebrate Rangers' opener.Ianis Hagi and Mohamed Diomande celebrate Rangers' opener.
Ianis Hagi and Mohamed Diomande celebrate Rangers' opener. | SNS Group

Hamza Igamane: Full of running, although was unable to fashion many opportunities. Always kept the Celtic defenders occupied. 7

Substitutes: Danilo came on and netted with one of his first touches. Robbie Fraser, Cyriel Dessers, Connor Barron and Oscar Cortes all appeared in stoppage time.

Celtic

Kasper Schmeichel: Made a couple of decent saves and completely helpless with all of Rangers’ goals. 5

Alistair Johnston: Not able to push forward with his usual intent and found the going tough against Rangers’ forward players. 4

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Robin Propper netted Rangers' second goal.Robin Propper netted Rangers' second goal.
Robin Propper netted Rangers' second goal. | SNS Group

Cameron Carter-Vickers: Celtic’s most assured defender with a couple of big blocks, but even he was powerless to stop Rangers flooding in. 5

Liam Scales: Difficult afternoon for the Irishman, whose errant pass let Rangers in for the opening goal. Always on the back foot. 4

Greg Taylor: The left-back struggled to deal with Vaclav Cerny and Co and did not do enough going forward. 4

Callum McGregor: The Celtic talisman was nullified entirely by Rangers’ tenacity in midfield, unable to bring any kind of control to the team. 4

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Reo Hatate: Miles off his usual level. Sprayed too many passes into no-man’s land. Had one strike well saved by Liam Kelly. 4

Celtic captain Callum McGregor was unable to dictate play.Celtic captain Callum McGregor was unable to dictate play.
Celtic captain Callum McGregor was unable to dictate play. | SNS Group

Paulo Bernardo: Got the nod over Arne Engels in midfield. One excellent ball set up Kyogo Furuhashi’s offside goal but he largely struggled to cope with the battle. 4

Nicolas Kuhn: The German forward could not get any momentum going whatsoever, not able to get the better of Jefte. 4

Kyogo Furuhashi: Was ineffective in the first half. Did have the ball in the net early in second half but chalked off for offside. Made way for Adam Idah. 4

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Daizen Maeda: He’s often had the run of such fixtures, but did not pressurise an out-of-position Ridvan Yilmaz enough down his flank. 4

Substitutes: Adam Idah, Luke McCowan, Alex Valle and Arne Engels all came on but could not change the course of proceedings.

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