Reo Hatate shock as Celtic star ‘so bad’ in collapse at Rangers
Reo Hatate left Neil McCann stunned with his performance for Celtic during their 3-0 thumping by Rangers at Ibrox.
It was a day to forget for many wearing the green and white of the defending Scottish champions on Thursday (2 January) as they were heavily beaten by their closest rivals.
One of those who performed well below their best in that match was Hatate, who was guilty of a number of misplaced passes from his role in midfield.
Clearly that was something that McCann was not expecting from the Japanese international.
Speaking on co-commentary of the game on Sky Sports (3:39pm) as the Celtic man fired a wayward pass from inside his own half into the path of Rangers’ Ianis Hagi 36 minutes into the game, the former Rangers winger said:
“I tell you something. I’ve never seen Reo Hatate’s distribution so bad. He’s turned the ball over so many times to this Rangers side today. Yes they’re in good positions but it’s so uncharacteristically bad from him.”
Reo Hatate and Celtic must move on quickly from Rangers humiliation
Despite this defeat at Ibrox, Brendan Rodgers’ side are still in an excellent position in the Scottish Premiership table.
Celtic remain top of the current standings and are 11 points clear of Rangers in the standings at the midway point of the campaign.
So if they can brush this off quickly and get back to their normal level they will still be well in control of the title race in Scotland.
Rangers though will have been given a major boost by this result that has surely lifted the pressure that was building on manager Philippe Clement.
So if Celtic fail to snap out of what happened in this match, their local rivals may sense an opportunity to make it a very nervy run-in for the Bhoys at the very least, which they will be desperate to avoid from here.
Hatate has bee a standout performer for his side in recent times, and so he is one the emphasis may be placed on to help lead his side’s response to a setback such as this.
In other news, Neil Lennon was stunned by comments made by Kris Boyd.
For more Celtic and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.