It was a derby thriller at Parkhead with Barry Ferguson and his troops edging a five-goal blockbuster
Brendan Rodgers pinpointed three Celtic issues in the first half that contributed to their downfall against Rangers.
The Hoops boss watched on as his side went into the break trailing by two goals after a Nico Raskin header and a well worked goal that was finished off by Mohamed Diomande.
Minutes into the second half Daizen Maeda hit back before Reo Hatate levelled to give the hosts the edge. Rodgers felt with the energy in the stadium he expected his side to go on and at the very minimum finish with a point and put real pressure on Barry Ferguson and Co.
However, sub Hamza Igamane popped up with a cracker with just moments left on the clock to send the 2,400 travelling fans inside Parkhead wild and bag all three points in a five-goal derby thriller.
Rodgers handed Rangers credit for their derby win and also namechecked No1 Jack Butland for his role in the result. But he admits it was a disappointing performance from his side and put some of that down to a Callum McGregor sized hole in his team.
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Speaking to Sky Sports, Rodgers explained: “There is no doubt we missed Callum. He gives real tactical balance in the game. Having to shift a couple of things around, but you see the importance of him, how quickly he can get through the pitch and tactically he is really good for the team. So I thought we missed him.
“I thought we were too rushed in our game, too slow and gave up the ball too cheaply. That was my thinking for the first half.
“In the moments they pressed it well. From our side we lacked a little bit of composure on the ball, rushed passes and misplaced passes. You give credit to Rangers, they’ve come here and won the game. That is never a nice feeling as a player or manager here. We are disappointed with the overall performance..”
He continued: “You will have days like today. You never want it to be here at home. But there is a responsibility on everyone. We got back into the game in the second half, got into a great position and failed to capitalise on that.”
Asked if he felt they would go on and not only get the draw but win the game, he added: “Yeah, well that was what the feeling was. The early goal was very good for us.
“A really good move. One of the few moments we played like we normally play. Great cross and Daizen gets his goal.
“That felt good and you felt the energy in the stadium then we get the second goal. From there I expect us to put real pressure on and at the very least finish with a point. To lose the game like we did at the very end was frustrating.
“We really created that ourselves. The first one is a static position. The young guy [Nico] Raskin does really well at corners for someone who is not a centre-half. He is very quick across the ground, gets in front of Jeff [Jeffrey Schlupp] and scores. The second one we make the mistake and the third one as well we should deal with that better.
“But also give credit to Jack Butland. He’s made some brilliant saves. We created opportunities but it just wasn’t to be. “
