Our View: Celtic star owes it to himself to give big derby performance

By John Reid

March 12, 2020

Celtic’s Kristoffer Ajer is one of the Hoops’ best defenders when he is on his game. For most of this season, his partnership with Christopher Jullien has been rock solid, and one of the main reasons Celtic are clear at the top of the Premiership.

However, when it comes to games against Rangers this season, the centre-back has struggled. He had a difficult game in the Betfred Cup Final, but thankfully still came out on the winning side.

Celtic defenders Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer / (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

That wasn’t the case when the teams met at Celtic Park in December, where Ajer once more struggled. He could have done better for the winning goal, which was scored by Nikola Katic from a corner, as the Hoops lost 2-1.

Chance to make up for earlier difficulties

Now Ajer has a chance to make up for those difficulties when the Hoops travel to Ibrox on Sunday to take on Rangers.

Ajer owes it to himself to put on a dominant display against Celtic’s biggest rivals, and the good news is that he is more than capable of doing so.

Ajer’s possible battle with Alfredo Morelos could go a long way towards determining if the player has a successful game at Ibrox.

Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer in action against Jermain Defoe / (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Morelos isn’t in the best of form recently, but you can bet that he will be up for the game should he be selected. Therefore, Ajer will need to work out a way to stop the striker influencing the game.

Missed out on win earlier this season

If he can do this, it will be a good start to his chances of turning in a dominant display at Ibrox. Ajer missed out on the 2-0 win at Ibrox in September, but he seems certain to feature for the Hoops against Rangers this time.

He owes it to himself, his teammates and the Hoops management team that he can handle the pressure of the biggest league game the team will play.

He has done so in the past, there is no reason why he cannot again.

Are you confident Ajer will handle playing against Rangers? Will he get the nod to start the game? Share your thoughts below with a comment in our new discussion forum…