Brendan Rodgers admits recent defensive displays against Rangers are a concern following the 3-2 defeat by the Light Blues at Parkhead.
The William Hill Premiership leaders found themselves two goals down at the interval through an early Nico Raskin header from a corner and a Mohamed Diomande strike.
The home side reasserted themselves after the break with goals from Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate but in the 88th minute Gers substitute Hamza Igamane, only on the park a matter of minutes, fired in the winner for the visitors.
Rodgers noted that Celtic, who are 13 points ahead of Rangers at the top of the table, have conceded three goals in each of their last three games against their Old Firm rivals.
Celtic shipped three goals in the 3-0 defeat at Ibrox in January and fought out a 3-3 draw with Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup final at Hampden Park in December, albeit they won the cup on penalties.
He said: “Yeah, that’s something to think about for sure. I mentioned that afterwards.
“You need to be better. You need to be defensively much better, much more secure.
“But I think also part of that comes from the ball, giving the ball away and not dominating it like we do.
“You hand a little bit of onus to the opposition. But ultimately, the three goals were disappointing goals.
“It’s just clarity of thinking. The corner, we were in good position.
“The young guy Raskin, he’s done it a few times, he’s quick across the ground and gets the contact. But we’re goal-side, so we have to deal with that better.
“The second one, again, the ball goes back and then we’ve got to open up the pitch quicker. We end up, it goes out for a throw-in for them.
“So, we’re in control of that. And then, the third one is punt up the pitch, we miss the first header, a slip and then in fairness the guy finishes it really well. But we can deal with those things much better. It’s just one of those days that you have sometimes.”
The Northern Irishman also believes the absence of injured skipper Callum McGregor was a big factor in his side’s display.
He said: “I think we missed Callum today. I don’t think there’s any doubt in that.
“I mentioned before about the tactical balance he gives the team. He’s the guy that opens up everything for us.
“His movement, his quality, his touch gets us through the pitch nice and quickly.
“So you could see it wasn’t anywhere near as fluid. That’s the reality.
“But others have to step up because if he’s not playing, then we need to be better.”
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...

Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...

David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...

Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...

Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...

Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...

Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...

Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...

Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...



- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender