da marjack bet： Glasgow Rangers ran riot over their arch-rivals Celtic as a Connor Goldson brace secured the victory at Parkhead on Saturday afternoon. It’s fair to say that Rangers fans are absolutely loving what Steven Gerrard is doing at the club, but perhaps the Gers boss deserves far more credit than he has been getting in recent weeks.
da winzada777： Gerrard’s side crushed Celtic in a convincing 2-0 away win at Celtic Park at the weekend. In doing so, the Liverpool legend became the first manager to steer the Ibrox outfit to back-to-back away league wins against their rivals since March 1997 under Walter Smith.
It’s worth remembering that Brendan Rodgers, who was in charge of Celtic at the time, was “surprised” to see his former captain linked to the vacant manager’s job at Rangers. How the tables have now turned.
The Light Blues have improved drastically since the last campaign, that much is already clear, as they are currently enjoying a 14-game unbeaten run, stretching back to the 1-0 win over Aberdeen at the start of the season. In contrast, the Gers had already been humiliated at home by Celtic at this stage last season. And they seem to be getting even better with every passing week.
It’s obvious for all to see that the Ibrox outfit have massively improved defensively, as Neil Lennon’s side failed to register a single shot on target in the first Old Firm derby of the season.
The Rangers boss was described as a “tactical genius” by lifelong fan and former defender Alan Hutton after Glen Kamara “nullified” the attacking threat of Celtic wing-back Jeremie Frimpong. He told Football Insider: “It was really a bit of tactical genius from Gerrard to use Kamara’s energy up and down the pitch to stop one of their main threats on the day.”
Per SofaScore, the 24-year-old won seven out of nine ground duels, whilst he made three tackles, one clearance and one interception. A look at his heatmap shows a hub of activity on the left wing, which shows that he put in a defensive shift. Perhaps what is most telling is the fact that he wasn’t dribbled past at all.
When you consider the fact that Gerrard is juggling domestic and European competitions this season, only then does it become clear that he is actually doing a brilliant job.
Most importantly, the award-winning manager, who was named The Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month for August after guiding the Gers to five wins and a draw, seems to have changed the mindset and mentality of his team, after they came up short as Celtic were confirmed as Scottish champions for the ninth season in a row last term. The Bhoys were 13 points clear of their nearest challengers when the campaign came to a premature close.
Former Rangers defender David Weir told The Daily Record that “the Rangers squad is in a really good place right now.”
“But what’s really interested me has been the way Rangers have reacted after the win. It’s been very low keen with none of the players getting over excited on social media.
“They’ve learned from what happened last December when maybe they were guilty of getting carried away. It’s much more business like this time and I like that. I think it’s promising.”
Whilst there is still a long way to go, if Gerrard’s side can regain the title, maybe then – and only then – will Gerrard finally get the full credit he deserves.
AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must take a gamble on long-term target Jack Wilshere…