Celtic’s derby day 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon probably summed up their confusing season so far. Play badly and leave it behind to score points and save the result.
Martin O’Neill said after the game that the Hoops were “not even second best” in the first half, a stark reflection of the opening 45 minutes in which he watched his men lose twice to Youssef Chermiti.
There were plenty of problems for the Bhoys, not the least of which was Dane Murray’s poor effort to clear a goal before Rangers’ second goal.
The centre-back flicked a boot to the ball on the right side but found a mistake, slotting it to Chermiti who got the ball ahead of Julian Araujo and found the net.
While O’Neill’s men were suspected in the rear, the exposure of the attackers must have been a source of great frustration for the Irishman.
The way Celtic attacked against Rangers
This game is not for the faint hearted but sadly for those on the road at Ibrox, those in Celtic’s lane blocked the big event.
Chief among their woes was Junior Adamu, a winter signing who had a positive impact in that impressive win against Dundee a few weeks ago.
While his goal in that remarkable comeback win was full of class, everything about his performance on Sunday was tough. He was taken out of the break having managed to pass just three. He also had only six touchdowns.
That said, his unknown display was not helped by those around him, especially Daizen Maeda who looks very distant.
Last season the Japanese international was in impressive form, scoring 33 goals in 51 games. His form in 2025/26 has been the opposite. He has scored eight goals in 41 games and has now failed to score in seven consecutive Premiership games.
Maeda’s finish against the Rangers told the story. In the second half, he created a good chance for Jack Butland and undoubtedly he should have scored this opportunity as a penalty.
The winner met a bad ball in the box but with a goal at his mercy, he somehow missed a combination of Dujon Sterling and Butland. Fortunately for Maeda, his embarrassment was not answered when the replays showed that the ball hit Sterling in the arm. A penalty was awarded, which was later missed by fellow international Reo Hatate, before the rebound was bundled home.
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Celtic vs Rangers player ratings |
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Sinisalo – 6 |
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Araujo – 5 |
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Scales – 6 |
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Mary – 4 |
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Tierney – 7 |
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Nygren – 6 |
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McGregor – 6 |
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Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5 |
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Yang – 5 |
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Episode – 4 |
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Adam – 3 |
For Maeda, time may be running out in his Celtic career but at least for his own sake, he is still starting games. On the contrary, one of his partners may end up in the famous green and white.
The Celtic star looks complete in a Hoops jersey
If a team comes looking for a Japanese player in the summer, it’s likely that the fans will be telling the board to take the money and run.
That said, he won’t be the only star player to flee Parkhead when the next transfer window opens. Of course, for a certain Kasper Schmeichel, he might not play another minute for the Glasgow club.
Truth be told, this has been one of the worst weeks of the Dane team’s career. After replacing Joe Hart, the former Premier League winner looked like a strong man. He was very much cut from the same cloth as Hart in terms of experience.
However, at the age of 39, it looks like the goalkeeper’s performance is leaving him and it looks like O’Neill is also leaving him.
It all started with a clash with Killie two weeks ago when he allowed Joe Hugill’s efforts to get him into some awkward situations. His performance against Stuttgart in Europe a few days later was even worse, allowing Jamie Lewelling’s effort to go past him and back into the net.
Sadly for those linked with Celtic, it didn’t get much better with a stoppage time against Hibs last week. Although he should not have been blamed for the goals, Schmeichel was lucky not to be penalized in the first half when he played the ball towards Owen Elding.
As a result, O’Neill decided to leave him out of the squad for the second leg against Stuttgart in midweek and that decision was confirmed by Viljami Sinisalo’s clean sheet.
As a result, the Hoops manager saw no reason to change his goalkeeper in Sunday’s match, Sinisalo started from scratch. In fact, there was nothing he could do about Chermiti’s two pieces of wisdom.
So, you can see that before another big week with Aberdeen clashing with Rangers and in the cup, Finn will start with those two games.
This campaign is serious business and although it is sad to say, Schmeichel’s time at Celtic is over. His contract expires at the end of the season, so there is not much he can do if he wants to get a new contract.
Don’t expect Schmeichel to get a new contract. Maybe don’t even expect the Danish international to play for the Hoops again. Sisalo deserves his place in the team now.
“Top player…” – Chris Sutton hails Celtic’s “outstanding” star for late comeback against Rangers
The Hoops got a late equalizer at Ibrox…
