Glasgow Rangers defender Fabio Cardoso made his first appearance for the Ibrox side since January in their weekend defeat.
With Russell Martin signing in January and Bruno Alves staying at Ibrox, Fabio Cardoso may have wondered whether he was going to get another chance to enjoy a run in the Rangers side.
The 23-year-old was signed during Pedro Caixinha’s tenure, and despite featuring regularly under his countryman, the Portuguese went into Sunday’s Old Firm game boasting just two appearances since the turn of the year.
However, he got his chance to impress as he came on during the first-half after David Bates picked up a nasty-looking ankle injury in a collision with Tom Rogic. Unfortunately for Rangers, he did not make the most of the opportunity.
Cardoso was poor for both of Celtic’s goals while he was on the pitch, giving Moussa Dembele a channel to run into for the Hoops’ second of the game and being beaten too easily by Odsonne Edouard’s trickery for the winner.
With Bates requiring a stretcher to leave the field and then returning to the ground on crutches and Martin also out of the team through injury, there is every chance perhaps that Graeme Murty will hand Cardoso another opportunity against Kilmarnock this weekend – despite the fans’ desire to not see him involved.
Cardoso is now facing an uphill battle trying to prove that he is good enough to be a rival for the likes of Martin and Bates, and has certainly not got off on the right foot.
Therefore, if he cannot make the most of whatever chance comes his way in the near future, it may not be out of the question to suggest that he has possibly blown his last opportunity to salvage his Ibrox career.
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