Celtic have shown they are the best team in Scotland once again with a 3-0 rout of Rangers at Celtic Park on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were unstoppable against their rivals with goals from Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Callum McGregor battering the visitors.
Celtic are miles ahead of Rangers on and off the pitch. In recent weeks Philippe Clement has talked up how ‘close’ his side are – but it’s simply not true.
After today’s match, the Ibrox boss was full of more odd statements and excuses on Sky Sports.
Philippe Clement has his say on Celtic Park defeat
Clement said: “We started the best of the two teams. We started really well in the first 10 to 12 minutes, we should have scored one or two goals there. That makes the difference.
“The shift of momentum after 1-0 – I was not happy with the reaction because we lost quality on the ball and in our organisation. At this level of game, we need to be clinical and we need to be more clinical. That’s one of our working points for the next weeks and months.”
Then, Clement started listing off the excuses, continuing: “We know we are at the start of something, 16 players left the club. We have a lot of new guys and young guys. There’s an age difference between the starting eleven of Celtic today and ours.”
That’s a pretty bizarre statement considering there’s no great difference in average age between the two starting elevens today. Celtic’s average was 27, while Rangers’ was 26.
Clement also said: “Celtic played today also with a team that’s been more than one year together. Some guys for two, three, four years. So it’s normal they have more optimism in that way. And you see also when they bring the new ones in that they paid a lot of money for, it’s not the same.
“I think if today we scored the first goal it’s a totally different game.”
After the interview, even Sky Sports pundit Kris Boyd was left perplexed by Clement’s comments and the excuses used, which sums it up.
Rangers manager can’t get close to Celtic
The Belgian manager has now had five attempts to do something in this fixture. Despite all the big talk and the time he has had to put a winning team in place, he’s failed. Michael Beale was doing better than this.
All he’s managed to muster is a 3-3 draw in a chaotic game that Ibrox – a result that suited Celtic more at the time on their way to a league and cup double.
Brendan Rodgers has the measure of him, make no mistake. Rangers fans must be asking serious questions about the direction of travel under their manager, despite his constant pleading about giving him room for growth.
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