Danny Rohl's Rangers threw away two crucial points against Celtic

Youssef Chermiti opened the scoring with a spectacular overhead kick inside ten minutes. He then doubled his tally and the lead midway through the half as he continued his big game scoring streak.

Kieran Tierney headed home shortly after the interval to give Celtic hope. The comeback was complete in the last minute. A VAR check penalised Dujon Sterling for handball. Reo Hatate's penalty was saved but he scrambled home the rebound.

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A huge opportunity missed

All the old cliches applied to this one. Yes, it was a big game. Yes, it was a must-win. To use another, it was a game of two halves.

This was not a fixture that required any selling or hyperbole. Rangers knew what was at stake, especially after seeing Hearts find a way to win, once again, with victory over Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon. The dropped points at Livingston last weekend simply could not be followed by an Old Firm defeat. If it was, Rohl’s side could be almost written out of title contention.

The fact that they were in that conversation before kick-off was remarkable. It speaks to the job that Rohl has done in recent months. Having put in that effort, now they had to ensure it didn’t go to waste.

That is exactly what they have done. At 2-0, they had three points in their grasps and Hearts in their sights. Now the deficit stands at six points. Once again, it was Derek McInnes who was the real winner of the weekend. Hearts are favourites.

This was most certainly two points dropped rather than one earned. The draw was a better result - both before and after the game - for Celtic than it was for Rangers. Rohl can still dream of landing the title, but the gap is going the wrong way at the wrong time.

Chermiti scores again…

Wow. Just wow. What more is there to say? It was a goal that had to be seen to be believed. In fact, even those who witnessed it with their own eyes were left stunned.

The cross from Andreas Skov Olsen was there to be won, there to be converted. Nobody except Chermiti even considered that it would be dispatched in this manner. It was a moment of genius, one that Chermiti may never better. What a time to pull off a bicycle kick.

His second was not as spectacular, but it was just as impressive. Dane Murray inadvertently created it with a dreadful clearance, but Chermiti still had so much to do. The first touch was deft as he nicked the ball away from Julian Araujo. The second saw him slot it beyond Viljami Sinisalo.

Two goals at Parkhead were followed by a hat-trick against Hearts. Rangers emerged victorious on both of those occasions. They didn't this time around.

His second half was spent on the periphery. Rangers had no foothold in the game and created little. Chermiti was feeding on scraps and then had to lead the line on his own. On the day he could have been the hero, his efforts were only good enough for a point.

Rohl’s side blew it

Rangers have been on the wrong end of some one-sided Old Firm encounters over recent years. This first 45 minutes was as comfortable and controlled as Rohl could have hoped for. It was everything that the home crowd would have demanded and expected. Why, then, did it all go so badly so quickly?

The goals from Chermiti were the most important aspects, of course. The Portuguese could so easily have been joined on the scoresheet on a couple of occasions. Skov Olsen hit the post from a tight angle, Ryan Naderi was denied at close range and Manny Fernandez flashed a header just wide of the far post as Rangers turned the screw.

At the other end, Celtic offered nothing. Junior Adamu and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were hooked at the break as Martin O’Neill tried to find a way back into a game that had completely passed his side by. Within ten minutes, Tierney reduced the deficit with a fine header.

Jack Butland saved a Daizen Maeda header and a Luke McCowan strike. Rangers were very much second best at that stage. Butland saved Hatate’s penalty but couldn’t prevent the midfielder scrambling home the loose ball. It was the last act on a remarkable afternoon.

A costly second half

Rohl had one big decision to make. Once he opted for a 4-4-2 over a 4-3-3, the team all-but picked itself. The call to go with two in the middle of the park rather than three took Mohamed Diomande – perhaps unfortunately and perhaps unfairly - out of the equation to start. The second striker berth had to go to Naderi. At right-back, the preference of Sterling over James Tavernier was hardly a controversial one.

It is one thing picking the right side, but another for it actually to deliver. Rohl did his part and his players held up their end of the bargain in the first period. In the second, Rangers had the tables turned on them in a manner that was reminiscent of the derby at Parkhead.

With an hour gone, it was time for Diomande to be introduced to help Rangers regain control. Naderi was the man that made way as Rohl went to a midfield three. Skov Olsen’s afternoon was over a few minutes later as Djeidi Gassama offered fresh legs in the final third.

Ultimately, Rangers ran out of steam and were left to ponder what might have been. They will argue the case over the VAR call and rightly point out that Sterling was unfortunate to concede the spot kick. Rangers were masters of their own downfall before that, though.

Ibrox is left frustrated

Rohl spoke in the aftermath of the win over Hearts here about how Ibrox felt like Ibrox for the first time. This occasion always had the possibility of surpassing the atmosphere and the emotion of that victory. It did, and by quite some distance. Well, for 45 minutes at least.

This first half was Ibrox at its best. It was raucous, it was intimidating and inspiring. Celtic would have arrived hoping to start positively and to take the sting out of the crowd. They returned to the dressing room at the interval shell-shocked at what had unfolded on and off the park.

The break interrupted the Rangers momentum and the flow of the game. It was all one way until that point. After it, Celtic’s first shot on target from Hatate was followed by the goal from Tierney that brought a nervousness around Ibrox.

Rangers fought to regain the momentum. As they did so, they needed the crowd to keep cool heads in the head of battle. Rangers were ragged and there was little of the assuredness from the first period in the second. At the whistle, it was the away support who were heard as those in red, white and blue were left to decipher just where it all went wrong.