Rangers 'scarred mentally' by Celtic as Michael Beale's 'perplexing' in-game decision slammed

Rangers have been left “mentally scarred” by recent Celtic defeats, according to pundit Kris Commons, who also believes the decision to take off striker Alfredo Morelos by Ibrox manager Michael Beale while chasing an equaliser in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final defeat by their Old Firm rivals was “perplexing”.

Celtic overcame their bitter Glasgow adversaries 1-0 at Hampden thanks to a goal from Jota to book a date with Inverness Caledonian Thistle next month. It was Celtic’s third victory over Rangers in a row and moves them on to the cusp of a domestic treble. Former Celtic player Commons feels the current Rangers squad is now damaged beyond repair when it comes to facing Ange Postecoglou’s team and that reinforcements with a strong mindset will be required in the summer.

The 39-year-old ex-Scotland player was also taken aback by the decision to remove Morelos and wrote in his Daily Mail column: “You are 1-0 down in a Scottish Cup semi-final with maybe 10 minutes to go. Despite seeing plenty of the ball, nothing has yet fallen for you in the penalty box but your supporters have stayed with you in the belief that the one gilt-edged chance you crave may yet come along.

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"All you can do is hope that it falls to the right player. Look, by no means was Alfredo Morelos having his best game yesterday. But if Rangers were going to get a goal, he was the most likely man to get it. For that reason, I was rubbing my eyes in disbelief when the board went up to signal that the Colombian was being replaced by Ianis Hagi. Listen, Hagi's a talented player who's had his injury issues of late but he's not scored at all this season and hasn't hit the back of the net since January of last year. He's a creator not a finisher. His introduction at that stage of the game was utterly perplexing. And, for me, it signalled the moment that Celtic secured their passage to the Scottish Cup final.

Allan McGregor and James Tavernier trudge off the Hampden pitch following another defeat by Celtic.Allan McGregor and James Tavernier trudge off the Hampden pitch following another defeat by Celtic.
Allan McGregor and James Tavernier trudge off the Hampden pitch following another defeat by Celtic.

"It's just one of many questions that Rangers fans will be asking of Michael Beale after his winless streak against Celtic extended to four matches. Fundamentally, though, it will be the manager's inability to get one over on Ange Postecoglou that will be foremost in their thoughts this week. Let's get this straight Celtic were some way off the pace here. You might say that Postecoglou's men were in third gear yet still won. Again.

"This summer, Beale needs to sign not only good footballers but ones that bring a different mentality to his side. Too many of this group are too mentally scarred by too many defeats like this. They've become too accustomed to days like yesterday when they huff and puff but again come up short. Despite there only being one goal in it going into the final stages, you never felt like Rangers had the belief that this would be their day. They've been in this movie far too often."