Rangers had looked better in recent games until turning up at Parkhead and looking like they had never met each other before.
Dessers went from being on fire to firing blanks and Ross McCausland went from composed to completely overawed, both snatching at chances easier than they scored against Ross County last week.
Phillipe Clement was right that Rangers continued lack of composure at either end of the park was the biggest factor in the result, however, he wasn’t entirely blameless.
How Philippe Clement can solve Rangers Old Firm winger problem
Before kick-off, for once, there was almost unanimous agreement with the team picked to do the job with the squad almost at full health.
What Clement didn’t do, was react quickly enough to one of the most glaring problems and he will need to fix it for the next Old Firm at Ibrox in January.
Rangers full-backs weren’t getting anywhere near as high as they have done recently, understandable given the pace of Celtic’s attack, but this had a knock on effect.
With Rangers playing with wingers who naturally like to cut inside, a lot of promising attacks ended with Rabbi Matondo and Vaclav Cerny running into traffic.
When Matondo, who was linked with a late transfer exit before the window shut, went off to be replaced by McCausland, it was a similar story until Clement switched his wingers onto opposite flanks.
Being able to drive down the outside saw Rangers finally get behind Celtic’s defence and create chances that should have been finished, McCausland being one of the most guilty for not being clinical.
Players need to improve but Clement must learn lessons too
Post match, Clement put a brave face on things reflecting on Celtic’s consistency of selection over the last few seasons, a luxury he is yet to enjoy.
Ever the optimist, Clement hasn’t given in on his chances of leading Rangers back into the title race:
“There’s still 34 games to go. We know we need to improve a lot of things and gel people together and get this understanding between players.
“The best is by far yet to come with this squad. I’ve seen a lot of good things in training, in the last games and also today in the beginning, in the reaction in the second half. But we need to reward ourselves.”
The problem Clemwnt has is that Rangers fans have never been a patient bunch.
The expectation is to win every game, home or away.
Once the players cross the line, it is their responsibility to deliver but Philippe Clement has to do his job and recognise when plan A isn’t working.
The blindingly obvious example is Celtic’s wingers and the problems they caused because they were able to attack the by-line before cutting the ball back.
Just ask Robin Propper how much central defenders hate running towards their own goal and then having to check back out.
