As the old saying goes, today's derby between Rangers and Celtic truly was a game of two halves.
The visitors were well on top during the first 45, while the hosts were almost in total control after half-time.
The game finished 2-2 with Daizen Maeda and Kyogo scoring for Ange Postecoglou's side, and Ryan Kent and James Tavernier notching for Rangers.
Michael Beale insists the title race is not over, also stating that there's nothing between the sides.
Unfortunately for him, the gap at the summit of the Premiership suggests otherwise.
Here's how each team's three best players ranked for Herald & Times Sport today...
Rangers
1. Ryan Kent
It was about time that the Englishman stepped up to the mark this season. A little over 90-seconds after the re-start, Kent had Beale's men level. He received the ball wide in the box before stepping inside onto his right and bending it beyond Joe Hart. It was an outstanding finish. It's something that he doesn't do enough of though. As pointed out by Kris Boyd, prior to today's game, 69 players had scored more league goals than Kent this season. For Rangers' sake, hopefully this is the start of a consistent run of form in front of goal.
2. Fashion Sakala
What a torrid time the Zambian gave impressive World Cup performer Josip Juranovic, albeit the defender was playing in a more unfamiliar position at left-back. Sakala was full of energy and a sharp bust of pace, which proved to be pivotal in both Rangers' goals. He set up Kent after running at Celtic's backline, and then he also won the penalty a matter of minutes later by cleverly chopping inside Carl Starfelt. He's been a key player under Beale so far in the early stages of his tenure.
3. Ben Davies
The former Liverpool man has missed a fair chunk of the season through injury. It would be fair to say it's been a stop-start adventure so far at Ibrox. If he can stay fit, then he showed what he's capable of in today's derby. His marking was spot on for the most part, and in turn, so was his defensive positioning. Connor Goldson is no slouch, but to the naked eye it certainly appears that Davies has a quicker turn of pace, which is essential for centre-backs in modern football
READ MORE: Rangers 2-2 Celtic: 5 major Ibrox talking points assessed
Celtic
1. Alistair Johnston
You'd have to say, the best debut from a Celtic's point-of-view since, erm, Juranovic last season. The Canadian settled into the game very well, as did the whole of the Hoops team. There were several occasions during the opening stages of the first-half where the right-back had the freedom of the wing to bomb forward and help in the attack. Trusted to start in the first game he's been available for, it's easy to see why the manager signed him. He was strong in the tackle, and although given a hard time by Kent at points, he equipped himself well defensively. More importantly, didn't seem phased by the occasion one bit.
2. Aaron Mooy
He may have only been on the pitch for a little over half-an-hour, but the Australian has surely earned himself a consistent run in the team from the start. He made things tick for Postecoglou's side and helped to settle the champions down after a very, very shaky spell at the beginning of the second-half when Rangers stormed into a 2-1 lead. Overall, the hosts still enjoyed the best of the game after the break, but Mooy's one-touch passing, balls clipped around the corner and movement were a big factor in Celtic's late push to secure an equaliser.
3. Kyogo
The league's top scorer didn't enjoy the greatest of games. However, one clinical moment propelled him into the rankings as one of Celtic's top performers of the day. In general, the Hoops were second best - let's be honest about it. But the striker's goal just three-minutes from time has put the champions in a very strong position to retain their title. It also ensured somehow of a moral victory for Celtic, as snatched the winning feeling and any positivity away from Rangers. He's now on 15 Premiership goals for the campaign.
At The Herald and Times we know the importance of reaching you where it's convenient, which is why we've engaged top sportswriter James Morgan to bring you an irreverent daily update on what's happening in the world of sport. Be it football, golf, rugby, cricket or something more exotic, James will tread where the best stories take him. To get this bespoke piece sent directly to your email inbox for free every day at 5pm, simply take 5 seconds to type in your email here. It's that simple!
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel