It was a day to forget for Liam Scales and Celtic, as the Hoops fell to a dire 3-0 defeat to bitter rivals Rangers at Ibrox.
Celtic went into the game 14 points clear of their Old Firm rivals in the Scottish Premiership and off the back of victory over Rangers in December's Scottish League Cup final. It was the hosts who would leave with the spoils on Thursday, however, after one of the worst domestic performances Celtic have produced in some time.
Rangers were quickest out of the blocks and had the game's opening strike within just seven minutes. Irishman Liam Scales gave the ball away sloppily in the buildup before Kasper Schmeichel allowed Ianis Hagi's trickling shot to slip past him into the bottom corner.
Should Kasper Schmeichel have done better for Rangers' opener at Ibrox? 😬pic.twitter.com/YEGxSJeskN
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) January 2, 2025
It was an omen of things to come.
There were once again no away fans in Ibrox due to an ongoing dispute between the two clubs - but it is doubtful the Celtic fans would have been making much noise had they been in attendance, such was Rangers' dominance.
As the clock ticked past the hour, Celtic had registered just a single shot on target, with the hosts in complete control. Rangers' surprising dominance was to be rewarded, as Robin Propper snatched their second goal amid a six-yard-box scramble after 65 minutes.
🎙️ "It's Happy New Year to Rangers at the moment! Very, very happy!"
Robin Propper puts Rangers 2-0 up against Celtic. Watch the final 25 minutes 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝗸𝘆 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 📺 pic.twitter.com/rIL1EemOa0— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) January 2, 2025
A third would follow through Danilo, as viewers were left stunned by one of the most unexpected Old Firm routs in quite some time.
At full time, Rangers legend Kris Boyd was ecstatic on Sky Sports. In analysing the game, he did not hold back in his assessment of Liam Scales' performance at the heart of defence, saying it had set the tone for an awful afternoon for Celtic.
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Rangers hand Celtic first defeat of Scottish Premiership season
Kris Boyd was alongside Celtic icon Neil Lennon in the Sky studio, and the pair were in agreement that Rangers' win had been just as much down to their opponent's lacklustre showing as it had their energetic performance.
Boyd singled out Ireland's Liam Scales for some unfortunate criticism, saying it had been one of his worst displays for Celtic and that his early mistake in the lead-up to the first goal had set the tone for what was to come.
I think this was the start of it...Liam Scales, I think he had one of his worst peformances in a Celtic jersey and that was the start of it there.
That [goal] kind of set the tone...Rangers were on the front foot asking questions.
Celtic really struggled to deal with Rangers, especially in attacking areas today.
Neil Lennon was similarly unimpressed with Celtic's defensive work, highlighting the box defending for Rangers goal as his example of the difference between the two teams.
It's shocking from a corner. Free header, Maeda loses him...it's symptomatic of the Celtic play today.
3-0 was no more than Rangers deserved. It's unfortunate for me to say, and I don't say it very often, but they were very good today, on it.
All the positive play and all the positive players in the game today were in a blue shirt.
Liam Scales has put in some massive performances for Celtic in recent years, particularly this season, but Thursday's is certainly not a game the Irish international will look back on fondly.
It may yet prove a flash-in-the-pan but defeat at Ibrox will surely be a wake-up call to Celtic, who were caught napping by Rangers on a truly surprising day in the Old Firm.
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