Analysis Corner: Celtic vs Rangers 30/12/17
By Dougie Wright (@dougie_wright)
Saturday’s derby between Celtic and Rangers may have ended goalless, but both Brendan Rodgers and Graeme Murty will have had plenty to take away from the encounter.
Candeias and the Celtic build up
Every 90 minutes, Daniel Candeias will set up two gilt edged chances for his team. No other player in Scotland produces high quality chances anywhere near as often as the Portuguese winger. However, a quality that is often overlooked in Candeias is his ability to pressure the opposition when not in possession. He presses quickly and aggressively; his intention is not to stop the opponent from passing, it’s to get the ball back.
This was a task he stuck to admirably on Saturday, going after Celtic defenders on twenty three different occasions. This resulted in Rangers winning the ball back in the Celtic half four times. You could see that this affected his opposite number, Kieran Tierney, who was forced into kicking the ball long eight times, with only two of them finding a team mate.
If the above is too numbers heavy from you, then the take home message is this: Candeias was constantly at Celtic’s backline, which meant that they couldn’t build up through Tierney as much as they’d have liked. The Portuguese winger gives Rangers just as much off the ball as he does on it.
Ajer
Getting thumped 4-0 is never nice. However, the defeat to Hearts did bring a silver lining for Celtic in the form of Kristoffer Ajer. The loss at Tynecastle paved the way for the 19 year old to come into the team in the place of Jozo Simunovic, and Celtic have yet to concede a goal since.
Saturday saw another confident performance from Ajer. Throughout the 90 minutes, he was unbeaten in the air, and only misplaced 3 of his 45 passes. While physically dominant, particularly impressive about Ajer were his awareness and ball control.
The Norwegian was Craig Gordon’s first option when passing out from the back against a high pressing Rangers side, and dealt with the task in a composed, elegant fashion.
Kranjcar
From a Rangers’ perspective, the only consistent negative throughout the game was the performance of veteran Croatian midfielder Niko Kranjcar. The 33 year old has been plagued by serious injuries, and it’s generally accepted that he can’t contribute much when his team are out of possession.
However, in 80 minutes of play, Kranjcar could only complete 7 passes.
At Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo never tracks back, but this is allowed on the basis that he can help the team score quickly on the counter. Similarly, in Barcelona matches, Messi famously spends the first few minutes merely watching the opposition to gauge any weaknesses he can exploit.
Sadly for Rangers, Kranjcar is neither Ronaldo nor Messi – it would be surprising if he were still starting games for the club when the Premiership resumes at the end of the month.
Implications for January
Recruitment decisions are never made on the basis of one game. However, the derby certainly shone a light on a number of trends throughout the season that both sides may look to address in the transfer window.
This was the game where Kristoffer Ajer consolidated his role as first choice defender at the club. With Simunovic and Sviatchenko rumoured to be heading for the exit, it would be surprising if Rodgers didn’t swoop for an extra centre back, even with the recent arrival of Marvin Compper.
For Rangers, they may feel as if they could have won the game should there have been more options in the squad. Kranjcar lasting 80 minutes after such a poor performance is indicative of a lack of depth in the centre of midfield; perhaps this is an area where the team could strengthen.
Furthermore, there was a noticeable drop in the pressing and aggressiveness of Alfredo Morelos after around 75 minutes. With Miller injured, and Herrera hardly setting the heather alight, maybe the Ibrox club could be in the market for another striker.
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