Column: Celtic Need Fresh Ideas

Here’s a quick breakdown of Rangers’ recent form just to get us started here

Here’s a quick breakdown of some of Rangers’ recent form just to get us started here - in particular, how opposition teams got on in attack:

Hibs - scored three goals from an xG of 1.66

Motherwell - two goals from an xG of 0.52

St. Mirren - two goals from an xG of 1.08

Celtic - zero goals from an xG of 0.09

One of those games is not like the others. Now, it’s been very well documented that Rangers away from home in Scotland are a completely different animal from what they are at home, but these games in particular come in the context of a period in which they had a patchwork defence and either a backup goalkeeper or one extremely out of form.

It’s also worth noting that Rangers have been on the end of some superb finishing and goals conceded from set pieces.

Yet underneath all of that, it has to be asked how teams with the sorts of small budgets and quality of Hibs, Motherwell and St. Mirren were able to repeatedly test Rangers’ defence and goalkeeper, while Celtic simply could not. Ridvan Yilmaz, Rangers’ left back that played out of position on the right, attempted more shots on goal than Celtic did in the recent derby.