Celtic powerhouse rakes in the praise after 'embarrassing' Rangers star in Old Firm win

Celtic hit Rangers where it hurt by ending their 16-game unbeaten run in Saturday's thrilling Old Firm derby. The Hoops extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table to eight points after a 2-1 win at Celtic Park.

Paulo Bernardo and Kyogo Furuhashi were the men of the hour with their goals either side of half-time, with the latter taking his tally up to seven goals scored in 11 derbies. Rangers saw red as Leon Balogun was given his marching orders for dragging down Daizen Maeda while he was through on goal, and while they clawed a goal back through James Tavernier, it wasn't enough to snag a point in the end.

Celtic threw everything on the line to deliver a winning performance for the home fans, but one man in particular has raked in the praise from supporters and professionals alike. Callum McGregor put it a mammoth shift in midfield to help get his side over the line.

According to FotMob, the Celtic skipper was the most accurate passer on the pitch and he split his performance between contributing to the attack and stopping Rangers from getting forward themselves. McGregor earned the Man of the Match award and Neil Lennon waxed lyrical about his efforts during the post-match discussion on Sky Sports.

"I thought he was outstanding, especially in the first half," the former Celtic boss said. "He's such a good mover of the ball, his reading of the game is second to none. He really played [Todd] Cantwell well today, he nullified him completely and then prompted a lot of Celtic's attacks. He's just got such a high level of football intelligence, he's a wonderful professional and he's a winner. This just sums him up."

Fans were in agreement over McGregor's impressive match and one loved how much the captain kept Todd Cantwell at bay.

"Great win today and pretty much men against boys. McGregor absolutely embarrassing Cantwell time and time again until he was hooked was some laugh," one supporter wrote on Twitter.

"Callum McGregor the best in Scotland by a country mile, bossed that game from start to finish," another said.

"Callum McGregor made that look effortless, levels," reflected a third.

That's now a wrap for Celtic for 2023, and they enter the new year clear at the top of the league table. Their next challenge lies in the form of St Mirren, who will host them on January 2nd for their first game of 2024.