Scott Brown spots Rangers decision that nobody saw coming as he hopes for one-off from Celtic star
The Celtic hero assessed his former side’s loss to Rangers on Sunday.
Scott Brown reckons Rangers left Celtic on the backfoot with a tactic that left his former side in a costly spin.
The Hoops icon was on punditry duty for Premier Sports as the Ibrox side dominated their Old Firm rivals 3-0 in a League Cup quarter-final. A Dan Neil double either side of Kevin Kelsy’s second half effort sealed a fantastic day for home boss Derek McInnes, who deployed left-back James Penrice in midfield, and moved to a back three against Celtic’s front three of Camillo Duran, Kasper Hogh and Sebastian Tounekti.
After a strong start to the season, Brown hopes it was just an off-day in particular for Duran, but putting Penrice on midfielder Benjamin Nygren is something he feels McInnes deserves immense credit for. Pressure now builds on Celtic ahead of their Europa League opener against Ferencvaros on Thursday that comes before a Premiership tussle with Rangers at Parkhead this Sunday. Rangers take on Aberdeen in the Premier Sports Cup-semi final stage for a chance to play Hearts or Hibs in the final.
Scott Brown on what Rangers got right vs Celtic
Brown explained: “You have to give Rangers and Del McInnes a lot of credit as nobody seen this coming. Nobody saw Del going to a back three with Penrice going onto Nygren. With the pace and physicality in their back three, I thought they dealt with Celtic's front three really, really well.
“Camilo Duran has been fantastic all season so it's maybe a one off game. Celtic came here with no fans but the willingness to go and win second ball and to sprint and work hard should be a given. They didn't do that well enough today and Rangers ran over the top of them."
He added: “The willingness to win second balls, to sprint and work hard, wasn't there. That should be a given, but Celtic didn't do that enough and over the top of them. But they also showed a lot of quality on the ball.
Scott Brown on Celtic performance vs Rangers
"So many times the Celtic centre halves won headers and Rangers players were first to the ball. Now they have to pick themselves up to face Ferencvaros on Thursday and then Rangers next Sunday. Those are two huge games for Celtic now.
"Rangers were on fire and they fought for everything. It looked like they wanted it far more. Celtic have been league and now they have to bounce back and have the will to run that extra mile."
The Scottish Football Social Club is presented by BetSBK.com | 18+ | Gamble Responsibly