Chris Sutton has blasted Rangers for their celebrations after the 0-0 draw against Celtic, saying they ‘showed where they are as a club.’
Rangers were the better team in the Old Firm stalemate, with striker Alfredo Morelos missing two golden opportunities to secure a famous win for new boss Graeme Murty.
Celtic looked off the pace at Parkhead as they struggled to break down the Rangers defence, although Scott Sinclair was guilty of a glaring miss at the end of the first-half.
The full-time whistle sparked jubilant celebrations among the Rangers players and in the away stand, and Sutton has now blasted the Light Blues for their exuberance.
In his column for the Daily Record, former Celtic striker and BT Sport pundit Sutton said: “The jubilation in the Rangers end showed where they are as a club right now. It was ridiculous. You’d think they’d won the World Cup, rather than done the same thing that Hibs and Kilmarnock have managed at Parkhead this season. Do you think back in the day Barry Ferguson or the De Boers would be doing cartwheels at earning a draw? No chance.
“If anything Rangers should have been gutted at letting Celtic off the hook. The game was there for the taking. I like Alfredo Morelos but the chances he missed were shocking but there’s no doubt they had a good second half – especially as they effectively had 10 men with Nico Kranjcar on the pitch.
“Rangers fans shouldn’t have been going wild at avoiding a hammering, they should be wondering how their side didn’t win the game, or how they fail so abysmally against Kilmarnock, Dundee and Hamilton. With Rangers it’s triumph to disaster on a weekly basis at the moment and they need to get away from the turbulence. Both sides need to raise the bar – even if one bar is still much higher than the other.”
OPINION
In some ways, Sutton is right. Rangers were the much better side on the day, and Morelos was guilty of missing two gilt-edged chances. However, the celebrations were in many ways understandable. Celtic, while not necessarily on their best form this season, have looked untouchable domestically. Their 69-game unbeaten run will most likely never be beaten, and they quite simply have left Rangers in their shadow. In contrast, Rangers have had the most turbulent of campaign’s so far, and for them to claim a point away at Parkhead was a great achievement, and one that deserved celebration.