Philippe Clement has offered a somewhat surprising take on Rangers’ 3-0 defeat to Celtic at Parkhead, suggesting that the match could have ended in a 3-3 draw had his players been more clinical in front of goal.
The loss has left Rangers five points behind their city rivals in the Premiership standings, with the pressure mounting on Clement, who is still searching for his first win in the Old Firm after five attempts.
Rangers were undone by goals from Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi in the first half, with Callum McGregor adding a third in the second period.
However, Clement believes the final scoreline didn’t reflect the balance of play, and he highlighted missed opportunities by Cyriel Dessers and Rabbi Matondo as key moments that could have altered the course of the match.
“We started the game really well,” Clement said in his post-match interview. “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.
“You need to be clinical in those games and take the lead. It changes the momentum and would have helped the team a lot to go in front here. We did good things with the ball to create those chances, but we need to be more clinical in those moments. It was the same in the second half.”
Clement pointed to the match statistics as evidence that his side had competed well, despite the emphatic scoreline.
“At the end, Celtic had 14 shots, we had 13. They had four on target, we had four on target. But you lose 3-0. That’s a clear result and a difference in efficiency. And of course, you give them a lot of confidence when they go 1-0 up, then 2-0. It’s always easier for them to play from that position.
“Ball possession was also equal today, 47-53, between the two teams. I wasn’t happy with our reaction after the 1-0. It wasn’t good enough. We went down in the first half, but the second half was better.
“However, you have to open up as a team when you’re chasing two goals and take more risks, which creates chances for them. But on the other side, we also had 100 per cent chances, but they need to be put in.”
Clement’s post-match comments suggest he is determined to remain optimistic despite the defeat, insisting that Rangers can still challenge Celtic for the title.
He believes that as his new signings—Robin Propper, Jefte, Connor Barron, Vaclav Cerny, and Hamza Igamane—all of whom made their Old Firm debuts, settle in, the team will improve.
When asked if the match highlighted a gulf in quality between the two sides, Clement was cautious in his response:
“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 they know to do the right things at the right moment. And the speed of handling, because they’ve done 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 score. Then it can be another dynamic. But when it’s 3-0, you need to accept that you lost and it wasn’t good enough. We’re going to work really hard in the next couple of months to be much better in January.”
Clement did, however, express dissatisfaction with his team’s defending for the goals they conceded, particularly the first two strikes by Maeda and Furuhashi.
“Yes, it’s too easy there,” he admitted. “We made defensive faults. But I think Brendan would say the same if we had scored in those first moments at the beginning of the game.
“That’s always the talk and the insight after an action. 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.
“So for sure, with the first goal, we could have done much, much better. But we had those moments too, and you need to kill them off. If you don’t, then you can get these questions about that.”
Clement’s reflections are unlikely to appease the Rangers faithful, who will be frustrated by another loss in a fixture that carries so much significance.
With the gap to Celtic now widened, the pressure is on Clement and his squad to turn things around quickly, particularly with the January transfer window looming as an opportunity to strengthen the team further.
The Belgian manager remains confident that his side can improve, but time may not be on his side as Rangers look to close the gap on their fiercest rivals.