Rangers took a huge step towards ending Celtic’s domestic dominance Callum McGregor may have inadvertently made the difference at Ibrox on Saturday, but it was.
Rangers vs Celtic: Referee Bobby Madden hits back at criticism for holding back Alfredo Morelos Referee Bobby Madden has hit back at supporters who claimed he was wrong to hold back Alfredo Morelos during an Old Firm flashpoint yesterday. In the second half of the Ibrox encounter both players came together following a tackle from Shane Duffy on Ryan Kent. In the incident Madden was seen to be holding back Morelos from Scott Brown, but the referee has pointed out that this is common practice for whistlers. On Instagram he posted a number of pictures of him breaking up on field bust ups and put the caption: Starting my 11th year in the premier league in the thick of the action during one of world football’s great derbies.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon is pictured during the Scottish Premiership defeat to Rangers at Ibrox Stadium. Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Celtic boss Lennon was unhappy with referee Bobby Madden s decision to send off Bitton with the game still goalless.
He told Sky Sports: I m bitterly disappointed. We were the better team and I think the referee has made the wrong decision which has changed the course of the game. It s not a sending off. It s a foul. We ve got Kristoffer Ajer coming across on the cover. Morelos is in a wide position. It s not a clear and obvious scoring opportunity.
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He said: I d be a liar if I said we are not going to be aware of that. Prior to this game, we were aware of the noise. But it s my job to protect my players and we are not going to gain anything or get an advantage by listening to the noise and getting involved in playing to it. We need to keep a tight-knit group and keep doing the right things. We know it s going to be tough. Teams are going to keep trying to beat us. But we need to just keep being ourselves. Everything we have done this season has got us into this position and we need to keep fighting to remain there. We haven t shown in previous years that we can go the distance. So the challenge for us is to stay humble and hungry.
Rangers celebrate taking the lead | Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Rangers grabbed their second Old Firm victory of the season and extended their winning run to 14 games in the Scottish Premiership, with Callum McGregor s own goal shortly after Nir Bitton s dismissal securing a 1-0 win.
Celtic had much the better of the first half and would undoubtedly have taken the lead were it not for the heroics of Allan McGregor. The visitors best effort came via Leigh Griffiths fantastic strike from the edge of the area, but McGregor was equal to it as he tipped it onto the post.
70 GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! Rangers open the scoring from a corner. An own goal from McGregor | 1-0 pic.twitter.com/WNpBtS3EvM Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) January 2, 2021