Glasgow Rangers beat their city rivals 1-0 on Sunday afternoon to move within two points of the top of the Scottish Premiership table.
Derek McInnes is the first manager in more than 40 years to win his first two games in charge of Celtic, and he also led the team to a 3-0 victory over Celtic in the Carabao Cup last weekend.
The Gers are currently on a six-game winning streak in all competitions, including five clean sheets, and have not conceded a goal in their last four games.
Ryan Naderi’s instincts helped the Scottish giants win Sunday’s clash with Celtic, reacting first to fire the ball into the back of the net after Kim Min-soo’s long-range shot bounced away.
Why Ryan Nardelli will be crucial to Rangers’ style of play against Celtic
The tall German striker will grab the headlines for his game-winning goal for Rangers, but it was his all-round game that really made his performance so impressive.
McInnes hopes to play an aggressive style of play with the Gers and the players will need time to adapt. Naderi was still struggling with that early in the season, but now he’s hitting his stride.
The German striker’s mobility and physical attributes will be crucial to the way Rangers play under the Scottish boss, as evidenced by his performance against Celtic on Sunday.
vs celtics | Ryan Nardelli |
|---|---|
minute | 90 |
lens | 4 |
Target | 1 |
key pass | 1 |
created huge opportunities | 0 |
Win the ground duel | 3/16 |
Win the air duel | 8/18 |
On the surface, losing 13 of 16 face-offs and 10 of 18 in the air may seem like a negative, but it shows that he can consistently challenge Celtic players and prevent them from getting any rhythm into the game.
Naderi did not give the Hoops players a chance to breathe, constantly applying pressure and confrontation, which played a crucial role in preventing the home team from dominating the game and creating equalizer opportunities.
New Barry Ferguson has had his best game for Rangers
The former Hansa Rostock center forward isn’t the Gers’ best player on the pitch, though, as that honor must go to a star who looks like the club’s new Barry Ferguson.
During his time at Ibrox, Ferguson was a leader with and without the captain’s armband in 424 games, winning 17 trophies in total, with Dujon Sterling following in his footsteps.
The versatile England defender has already worn the captain’s armband under McGuinness this season, but Daniel started wearing it against Celtic.
Although Sterling was not the official captain for this game, he performed in a Ferguson-style captaincy against the Hoops with an incredible defensive performance.
The 26-year-old star had a 100% tackle win rate (4/4) and ground duel win rate (6/6) throughout the 90 minutes, keeping Camilo Duran, Benjamin Nygren and Kieran Tierney quiet when they came through him.
There was no joy when Sebastian Tounekti came on as a substitute on Celtic’s left wing against Sterling, as he failed in all three attempts with the ball in his 19 minutes on the pitch.
Rangers starting vs Celtic ratings | |
|---|---|
player | grade |
Ivor Pandure | 7 |
Dujon Sterling | 9 |
Emmanuel Fernandez | 6 |
Our Machania | 7 |
James Penrith | 7 |
Kim Min-soo | 6 |
And Neil | 8 |
Nicholas Ruskin | 7 |
Jedi Gassama | 7 |
Ryan Nardelli | 8 |
Kevin Kelsey | 5 |
Sterling won nine of his 13 duels and completed an impressive 10 possessions in 90 minutes without once dribbling past, which speaks to the quality and reliability of his defence.
It was considered by some to be his best performance in a Rangers shirt as it was the first time he had won and kept a clean sheet at Parkhead since moving to Ibrox in the summer of 2023.
Sterling featured in the 3-0 Carabao Cup win over Celtic last weekend, but that was in front of Gers fans. It was a different mission in the utterly hostile environment of Parkhead, but he rose to the challenge.
He was even better than Naderi in the 1-0 win over Parkhead as he dominated defensively, winning the vast majority of duels and completely shutting down Celtic’s biggest attacking threat.
Sterling was limited to 98 appearances for the club in three years due to injury problems, but given the performance, circumstances and opponents, his 98th appearance may well have been his best yet.
The veteran defender looks like a new Ferguson-esque figure for the Gers, playing with aggression, passion and reliability while also providing leadership without the captain’s armband.