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That Kieran Tierney goal at the start of the second half was huge from Celtic’s perspective against Rangers.
It allowed Celtic to take control and dominate the second period, after producing an abject opening 45 minutes, with Pat Nevin noticing a change in mood inside Ibrox.
Minutes before Reo Hatate could equalise from his penalty rebound, Nevin stated that there was ‘real fear’ coming from the Rangers fans.
“The noise you can hear there is a barometer of what these Rangers fans are feeling just now,” said Nevin. “There’s real fear.”
Their fears proved to be correct because Celtic would win a penalty minutes later, and Hatate, despite his spot-kick being saved, would eventually score from his rebound.
Did Celtic just save their season with a second half comeback vs Rangers? Give us your thoughts in the comments 👇
WHAT. A. COMEBACK.
Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images There was ‘real fear’ from Rangers fans from minutes before the Celtic equaliser
Many Celtic fans will be frustrated because the team, whether it’s under Martin O’Neill or anyone else this season, can’t seem to put together a proper 90-minute performance.
It’s a reason why the champions of Scotland have struggled this term and are eight points behind Premiership leaders Hearts, with a game in hand.
But that second half period showed what Celtic can do when they really put the pressure on their opponents, and how they can’t live with the Hoops.
Nevin told BBC Sport that Celtic had Rangers so much under the cosh that even the players were looking towards their manager, Danny Rohl, looking for answers.
“The noise you can hear there is a barometer of what these Rangers fans are feeling just now,” said Nevin. “There’s real fear. They know that they’re second best just now.
“All of the players are looking over to the manager, saying, ‘What do we do now?’”
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty ImagesCeltic’s first-half stats vs second-half stats against Rangers
Visually watching the game, you could tell there was a clear difference in how Celtic went about their work, with O’Neill making two changes at half-time.
Junior Adamu was hauled off alongside Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with Sebastian Tounekti and Hatate coming onto the pitch.
It could be argued that Tounekti and Hatate were Celtic’s best players, as they played a huge part in the team creating six big chances during that period.
Rangers’ first-half possession – 49%Celtic’s first-half possession – 51%Rangers’ second-half possession – 43%Celtic’s second-half possession – 57%Rangers’ first-half shots: – 7Celtic’s first-half shots: – 1Rangers’ second-half shots: – 5Celtic’s second-half shots: – 16Rangers’ first-half big chances – 2Celtic’s first-half big chances – 0Rangers’ second-half big chances – 1Celtic’s second-half big chances – 6Rangers’ first-half corners – 3Celtic’s first-half corners – 3Rangers’ second-half corners – 3Celtic’s second-half corners – 4Join Our Newsletter
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