Former Rangers striker slams James Tavernier for ‘head-loss’ vs Celtic

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Celtic landed an emphatic blow against Rangers and their title hopes with a convincing 3-0 win in the season’s first Old Firm derby.

Celtic continued their perfect start to the Scottish Premiership season with a dominant win over arch-rivals Rangers at Parkhead.

Daizen Maeda opened the scoring for the hosts and Manchester City-linked Kyogo Furuhashi doubled their lead just before the break.

Philippe Clement made changes in the second half to try and inspire a comeback, but Celtic extended their lead through Callum McGregor with 15 minutes remaining.

Celtic remain at the top of the table and now boast a five-point lead over Rangers, who sit third behind Aberdeen.

There were a number of disappointing performances in the Rangers lineup, none more so than captain James Tavernier.

James Tavernier slammed for ‘head-loss’ vs Celtic

Tavernier came close to leaving Ibrox this summer with HITC revealing that former Gers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst showed an interest in bringing Tavernier to Besiktas.

However, Tavernier stayed put in Glasgow and he started at right-back in the Old Firm clash.

However, the 32-year-old had a match to forget with Celtic winger Maeda getting the better of him consistently.

BBC pundit and former Gers striker Billy Dodds gave a damning review of Tavernier’s performance just before the full-time whistle.

Dodds said via BBC: “He has had one of his worst days, Tavernier, there is no doubt.

“Since the goal, he’s got that head-loss. He’s been spun so many times, he doesn’t know when to deepen. He’s rushing his passes now, too.

“He’s a beaten man.”

James Tavernier may regret summer decision

Tavernier had a route out of Rangers this summer, but a deal never came to fruition before Friday’s deadline.

READ MORE: Rangers agree deadline day deal with ‘exceptional’ star set to leave

He is a key player for Gers and is a big leader in their dressing room, but he ended last season poorly and has continued to start this campaign in the same fashion.

The gulf between Rangers and Celtic looked alarmingly large on Sunday afternoon and more changes will be needed at Ibrox to fix that – it may include selling Tavernier.