PHILIPPE Clement today praised Rangers’ performance in their 3-0 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead and claimed the final result would have been 3-3 if his players had converted their scoring chances.
The Ibrox club fell five points behind their city rivals in the William Hill Premiership table after conceding goals to Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi in the first half and Callum McGregor in the second.
However, Clement, who is still looking for his first win in the world-famous fixture after five Old Firm matches, felt the outcome of the encounter would have been different if his charges had been more clinical with the scoring opportunities they created.
Cyriel Dessers had a shot saved by Kasper Schmeichel early on and then Rabbi Matondo headed a James Tavernier cross past the post.
Their Belgian manager argued that the match statistics proved how well the visitors competed with their hosts during the course of the 90 minutes despite the final scoreline.
Read more:
- How James Forrest has maintained Celtic longevity
- Jimmy Thelin praises Aberdeen goal hero Kevin Nisbet
- Warnock leads tributes to ‘ray of sunshine’ Bamba after death aged 39
“We started the game really well,” said Clement. “In the first 10 minutes we had two really good opportunities, with Cyriel coming free in front of goal and with Rabbi’s free header there.
“So you need to be clinical in those games, and to come in front. It changes the momentum. It would have helped the team a lot to go in front here. We did good things with the ball to create that, but we need to be more clinical in those moments. It was the same in the second half.
“Because at the end, Celtic had 14 shots, we had 13. They had four on target, we had four on target. But you lose with 3-0. That's really a clear result and a difference in efficiency. And of course, you give them a lot of confidence. If they come 1-0 in front and 2-0 in front, it's always easier to play.
“But you have to become more open as a team, because you need to chase two goals and take more risks. So that also creates chances for them. But on the other side, we also had 100 per cent chances, but they need to be put in against them.
“There are of course other details, and you can speak about some duels and some possession. But the momentum shifts with the 1-0 and for sure with the 2-0. Then Celtic are on the sofa. They have only to keep the ball and to wait for the moment you step out to use the space. So that creates a lot.
“It's a really big blow to lose 3-0 against Celtic. For all of us, for the fans, it's not something that you want. I think also we didn't reward ourselves in that way. It could have been a 3-2 or a 3-1 or a 3-3. Even if you have a good, efficient day today.”
Read more:
- Celtic vs Rangers ref watch as John Beaton performance analysed
- Dessers explains frustrated Rangers gesture to supporters
- New Parkhead main stand would give Celtic the whip hand over Rangers
Clement insisted that Rangers will still be able to contend with defending champions Celtic for the Scottish title and predicted that his side will improve when his new signings – Robin Propper, Jefte, Connor Barron, Vaclav Cerny and Hamza Igamane all made their Old Firm debuts today – settle.
Asked if he thought the match highlighted the gulf in quality between the sides, he said: “We will see in January. Celtic is now with this team that started playing already more than one year. Some guys are playing two, three years together.
“Of course, there is more automatism between players and to do the right things at the right moment. And the speed of handling, because they did it so many times together.
“We are just at the start with a new squad, with a new team. In that way, there were really positive things in the beginning of the game, but you need to kill off the game then and to score.
“And then it can be another dynamic. So of course when it's 3-0, you need to shut up at that moment and to accept that you lost and it was not good enough. So we're going to work really hard the next couple of months to be much better in January.”
Clement admitted he was unhappy with the Rangers defending at the Maeda and Furuhashi goals.
“Yes, it's too easy there,” he said. “We make defensive faults. But I think Brendan will say the same if we would have scored in these first moments in the beginning of the game.
“So that's always the talk and the insight after an action. And these are the decisive actions. Even the second goal, it's not really a big chance. It's a shot from 30-35 yards out of the box. So for sure with the first goal, we could have done much, much better. But we had also those moments and you need to kill them off. And if you don't do that, then you can get these questions about that.”
