Callum McGregor on what was ‘outstanding’ during Celtic’s stalemate at Ibrox

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic brought an intensity to Ibrox yesterday, gaining Brendan Rodgers’ side a point to solidify their Scottish Premiership title credentials.

In the end, the Bhoys will probably feel they should’ve held on to beat Rangers after being in a winning position twice; however, we now have a chance at Parkhead to defeat our rivals in front of a capacity home support.

Daizen Maeda, Matt O’Riley and Adam Idah were on target for the visitors, and Rodgers praised his men for their mentality to claim a result in tough circumstances away to their adversaries.

He stated post-match: “We’re disappointed not to win, but to leave here with it all in our hands is what we wanted – for that, I’m really proud.”

Of course, the obvious frustration from events will be our inability to close out three points in stoppage time; nevertheless, Celtic proved a lot of people wrong by refusing to crumble under the narrative from some that this is Rangers’ title to lose.

St Mirren lay in wait next for the Bhoys on Saturday, where we can cement a place at the top of the Scottish Premiership regardless of our rivals’ result away to Dundee in midweek.

Callum McGregor on what was ‘outstanding’ about Celtic

Club captain Callum McGregor made his return to action yesterday, coming off the bench to replace Reo Hatate on 65 minutes.

The 30-year-old took great pride in the Hoops’ performance post-match, lauding his teammates for standing up to what was a tough occasion where they could’ve folded at Ibrox.

McGregor stated, initially praising Celtic’s midfield [Cited via The Celtic Way]: “They were superb, but the whole team were outstanding. We had the confidence to play through the pitch, and we were a real threat at the top end as well.

“The team performance was as good as I’ve seen here. In terms of the first 45 minutes, I thought it was outstanding. The only criticism is that we maybe don’t get the third goal to give us more comfort in the game. Second half, we showed good personality to get through the sticky spells as well.”

Evaluating his comments, McGregor pretty much hits the nail on the head, and he has also acknowledged that our inability to score a third allowed Rangers a platform to get themselves back in contention for a result.

Nevertheless, there was a lot to be proud of yesterday in what will be the penultimate Glasgow Derby fixture without away fans present.

For now, dealing with our upcoming league fixtures against St Mirren and whatever falls post-split will now take priority for Celtic, alongside having a golden opportunity to put Rangers to the sword at Parkhead.