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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Matthew Fulton

Andy Walker claims Rangers getting 'too much praise' as pundits debunk Celtic defeat 'narrative'

Andy Walker reckons Rangers are getting 'too much praise' for their performances since Michael Beale's arrival.

The outspoken Sky Sports pundit= believes the Light Blues 'never looked like winning' the thrilling 3-2 Old Firm derby at Celtic Park that saw Kyogo Furuhashi and Jota on target for Ange Postecoglou's side. The victory all but sealed the title retention for Celtic with twelve points now the advantage ahead of Beale's men with two games to go before the split.

The defeat signalled only Rangers' second defeat since Beale arrived in post last year, having lost the Viaplay Cup final to their rivals in February. And Walker insists there has been 'too much praise' coming out of the derby but he does concede it was a different approach to that of the Hampden loss.

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He told Go Radio: "When all is said and done, it's all about results. I watched Rangers last week and I think they're getting too much praise - they got beat.

"I don't think they ever looked like winning [against Celtic]. I thought their pressing game, the closing down was good. It was a different approach to the one we saw in the League Cup final.

"I didn't ever think Rangers were going to win the game at any stage."

Pundit Stephen McGinn added: "I agree with Andy. I watched the game back and the narrative you heard on the radio was that Rangers had played really well.

"They definitely were good off the ball. They worked hard in stopping Callum McGregor on the ball, they unsettled Celtic at times. I thought for ten or fifteen minutes in the second half they played well.

"I never felt from open play they were going to score. That's where all their danger came from - set pieces. I thought the team was wrong.

"Sakala is the one player in the team that can cause Celtic problems in the way they defend. You think of the winning goal in the cup semi-final last year. He can get goals out of nothing which he has proved this season. They didn't play well with the ball."

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