Glasgow Rangers’ Premiership title hopes are all but over after yet another Old Firm defeat this afternoon.
In a game that they needed to win to stand any chance of winning a first league title in three years, the Light Blues suffered a 2-1 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead.
Conceding two goals during the first half was always going to present an uphill task and things didn’t get much better when John Lundstram was sent off.
The Englishman may have arguably played his final Old Firm clash as his stupidity suggests Philippe Clement would be wise to leave him out of the Scottish Cup final in two weeks.
John Lundstram's performance in numbers vs Celtic
The midfielder has entered into the final few weeks of his current contract and following this abject display, it could be curtains for him at Ibrox.
During his brief time on the field, Lundstram only won three of his ten contested duels, succeeded with just one of his three dribble attempts, lost possession seven times and even scored an own goal in what was a display well below par.
Accurate passes
16/20
Touches
30
Total duels (won)
10 (3)
Possession lost
7
Tackles
0
The midfield battle was key to both sides, yet Rangers struggled to control the game and this was due to Lundstram. With minutes to go before the interval, he lunged wildly into Alistair Johnston and received a red card to summarise his performance.
He might not be the only one who could’ve played their final game for the Gers this afternoon either…
Borna Barisic’s statistics vs Celtic
The Croatian was chosen ahead of Ridvan Yilmaz on the left side of defence, yet it was clearly a poor call by the manager, despite the Turk just returning from injury last week.
Barisic failed to offer anything meaningful going forward, delivering just one accurate cross, making one key pass and creating zero big chances, warranting his 5/10 match rating from Glasgow World.
Defensively, he was even worse. The 31-year-old not only lost possession nine times during his hour-long stint on the pitch, but he also won just one duel, committed a foul and failed to make either a single tackle or interception.
So often a key member of the starting XI, the previous few months have seen the defender endure a dismal end to his spell in Glasgow, and the Old Firm display this afternoon certainly looks like the final nail in the coffin – with just a matter of weeks left on his existing deal.
Time and time again, Barisic and Lundstram have let the club down when it matters most. With a win required at Parkhead in order to turn the tide of this title race, the duo were anonymous.
Clement will hopefully be glad to see the back of them when the summer transfer window rolls around, especially as he can free up some of the wage bill by releasing them when their contracts expire.
It will mark the end of an era, yet the truth is, the pair, alongside a few others this season, haven’t been good enough.
Bon voyage to both.
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