Brendan Rodgers told he is ‘wasting’ Celtic star after Rangers derby defeat

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Brendan Rodgers hasn’t been in this situation before at Celtic.

The Celtic manager has been so dominant in Glasgow that back-to-back defeats against Rangers is alien to him.

Before the turn of the year, Rodgers had only lost once against those from Ibrox, but now it’s two defeats in quick succession.

The plus side of it all is the fact that Celtic will win the Premiership title and are also on course to win another Treble.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	CelticCeltic	30	24	3	3	89	20	69	75
2	RangersRangers	30	19	5	6	62	28	34	62
3	HibernianHibernian	30	11	11	8	45	41	4	44
4	AberdeenAberdeen	30	12	7	11	38	46	-8	43

But that shouldn’t hide away or brush under the carpet the changes that need to be made when facing Rangers because the last few performances have been unacceptable.

Rangers’ pressing and allowing Celtic to have the ball has resulted in the champions-elect struggling to control the match and that was evident on Sunday without the injured Callum McGregor.

• READ MORE: TalkSport presenter slaps down Ally McCoist with a Celtic reality check as he reacts to Rangers win

Celtic told Arne Engels was ‘wasted’ in the number six role against Rangers

Arne Engels arrived with a big transfer fee on the top of his head in the summer, but his performances have been mixed.

Now, there will be patience with him because, look at Nicolas Kuhn and Matt O’Riley, their best came after they had settled down.

But Marvin Bartley pointed out how Engels was ‘wasted’ in that number six role over the weekend and he just ‘didn’t look comfortable’, as he told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard. 

“For me, he was wasted in that deeper role, he really was,” said Bartley. “There were a couple of times in the game where he went a little higher and tried to make some forward runs. 

“I know some people are saying it is his natural position, but for me, he just didn’t look comfortable at all. He looks so much more comfortable playing as a number eight.

“He’s not one of them that looks like he wants to build the game. We speak about Callum McGregor and he gets on the ball and drops in between the two centre-halves when he needs to glue everything together.

“Engels didn’t look comfortable, at all, in trying to do that role. This game, as a number six, the game passed him, and when he was trying to do things, then he was just trying to force things.”

Engels’ stats for Celtic this season

The 21-year-old has played deeper on occasions this season when McGregor hasn’t played or been subbed off early.

Usually, that isn’t the norm, but perhaps it is a glimpse into the future, or is Engels better suited to playing further up the pitch?

The rising Belgium star certainly has goals in him and he does look comfortable when making runs from deep, so perhaps he is better suited to remaining further up the pitch.