Stiliyan Petrov has accused Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer of cowering away from Alfredo Morelos’s strike in Rangers’ 4-1 win at Ibrox on Sunday.
Rangers romped to victory over the 10-man Hoops to ensure that Celtic would go through the entire 2020-21 campaign without winning a single Old Firm derby.
Morelos fired the Gers back into a 2-1 lead shortly after Odsonne Edouard equalised, following Callum McGregor’s red card on 26 minutes.
The Colombian hitman nutmegged Scott Brown and lashed home an unstoppable drive past Scott Bain in the Celtic net.
Television replays indicate that Ajer turned his head away from the Rangers star’s shot and Petrov, speaking to Sky Sports at half-time, has suggested that it was intentional by the Norway international to avoid being hit.
He said: “I know Morelos got a little bit lucky but Ajer, stand tall, take the hit in the face, stay strong. That’s what the keeper and everybody else is expecting.”
In Ajer’s defence, it could and probably was just instinct.
At 6’5, the 23-year-old is one hell of a physical specimen and the fear of having ‘Mitre’ imprinted on his face for a few minutes is unlikely to have made him duck out of the way of Morelos’s effort.
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