Rangers and Celtic join forces to give Scottish game 'excellent' boost as super result plays into big picture
Rangers and Celtic both enjoyed statement wins in their recent European fixtures.
While Rangers have some ground to make up in the Scottish Premiership to close the gap on Celtic and Aberdeen, their win in Europe has come with a lot of praise.
The Light Blues marked their return to the Europa League with a 2-0 win over Malmö on Thursday, their first ever victory in Sweden. Philippe Clement was pleased with his side’s performance and said it ‘could have been perfection’ if Rangers had tucked away early opportunities to increase the scoreline. Nedim Bajrami scored inside 60 seconds and Ross McCausland put the game to bed in the second half.
“It's not errors. It's part of football. Even the best players in the world do not score with every chance. It is important we create and the players are more decisive,” Clement said after the match.
Celtic have launched the perfect start to their season, remaining unbeaten in all competitions so far. The Hoops currently sit top of the Premiership table with maximum points and they have also won all of their games in other competitions up until now.
Celtic banked a dominant victory over Slovan Bratislava last week to kick off their Champions League campaign. Brendan Rodgers’ side breezed to a 5-1 win, with five different goal-scorers enjoying the return of European nights in Paradise.
Pundit and former Hibs star Tam McManus has praised both Glasgow sides for their efforts in Europe, particularly Rangers, for their efforts in boosting Scotland’s coefficient.
“Superb performance and result for Rangers really impressive away European performance,” McManus wrote on X. “Cruised what was a tricky looking tie on paper. Great start to the group and been an excellent start for the coefficient from Celtic and Rangers.”
After this weekend’s Scottish Premiership fixtures, both Celtic and Rangers are back in European next week. The Hoops are due to for an away trip to Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Rangers are up against Lyon in a highly-anticipated Ibrox clash on Thursday.