Rangers suffered defeat in the first Old Firm derby of the season.
Scott McDonald has claimed on BBC Sportsound that Rangers missed winger Jamie Murphy during Sunday’s Old Firm derby against Celtic at Parkhead.
Olivier Ntcham scored the only goal of the game, tucking the ball home from 10 yards after an excellent Celtic counter attack from a Rangers corner after good work from Tom Rogic, Odsonne Edouard and James Forrest.
Murphy, 29, suffered a season-ending injury during the 3-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, with an anterior cruciate ligament problem expected to keep him on the sidelines for the entire campaign.
Former Celtic striker McDonald believes Rangers were missing a ball carrier like Murphy, and reckons the loss of the Scotland international could impact Steven Gerrard’s side later down the line.
“Jamie Murphy is a huge miss, he really is,” McDonald said. “He’s a ball carrier and he can create things. I think that was lacking, Celtic have them in abundance. Kieran Tierney, James Forrest, they could bring Scott Sinclair on.
“Rangers are solid at the back, they have a good structure, very difficult to break down, it’s just in these forward areas. As it gets tighter, as it gets colder, pitches get worse, have they got the quality to break teams down?
“Celtic have. Question is, later down the line, do Rangers have them.”
Murphy joined Rangers on loan in January from English side Brighton before completing a permanent move this summer as one of 15 signings made by Gerrard.
Clocking up 29 appearances for the Gers, Murphy has scored six goals and created an impressive 13 strikes, establishing himself as one of the most important players in Gerrard’s side.
His injury saw Rangers decide to splash out £1.8million on Albania international Eros Grezda, while Gerrard also has options out wide in Glenn Middleton, Kyle Lafferty, Daniel Candeias and Ryan Kent.
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