Lennon grudgingly lauds 'outstanding' Rangers star but can't resist dig
03/16/2025 11:45 AM
Rangers made it back-to-back wins over Celtic with for the first time since August 2021.
Gers’ 3-2 victory over their big rivals was also their first at Parkhead since 2020 as Hamza Igamane won it late on with an emphatic finish into the top corner.
Barry Ferguson’s battling visitors started on fire and took an early lead through Nico Raskin’s brilliant near post flicked header from James Tavernier’s delivery. Vaclav Cerny passed up a great chance to make it two but Mohamed Diomande wouldn’t be as profligate when Raskin turned provider.
It was inevitable Celtic would push as the game wore on and the Light Blues were unable to keep them out, Daizen Maeda pulling one back and Reo Hatate equalising.
But that just set things up for Igamane to smash one in at the death to end his goal drought.
It was Raskin who took the man-of-the-match award though after his goal, assist and tireless display in midfield.
Lennon has praise for Rangers’ Nicolas Raskin
The little central midfielder was called up to the Belgian international squad ahead of Celtic’s Arne Engels this week.
Belgium boss Rudi Garcia explained his picking of Raskin as he targeted making sure he was ready after 120 minutes against Fenerbahce and then the intensity of a derby.
The Belgian press also had their say as the 24-year-old’s call-up was labelled ‘remarkable’ with people looking forward to seeing how much he has progressed.
In today’s big match, Raskin looked to still be on a high and set about proving exactly why he was in ahead of Engels.
His energy and battling qualities, as well as his passing, in the middle of the park have been so crucial this season but he even got on the scoresheet after just four minutes and that set the tone for a brilliant 90 minutes.
Neil Lennon was looking pretty glum as he looked back on the game for Sky Sports, and he said of Raskin: “Outstanding. Does the dirty bits of the game really well, tackled well, filled int he gaps when he needed to, passed it well and scored an outstanding goal.
“He was pivotal in Rangers getting off to a really good start in the first half.”
Lennon questions how Rangers will be feeling
The celebrations were there to see on the pitch at full-time and the players could be heard blaring out tunes from the dressing room during post-match interviews.
But Lennon tried to put a dampener on things and questioned whether Rangers will actually be left wondering what might have been rather than enjoying their victory.
He added: “I wonder what is the feeling in that dressing room. Is it a case of ‘yeah you’re really happy, you’ve had a great few days’.
“Or is it a case of what might’ve been. Because when you see them playing like they did in the first half and other aspects of the season, you’re thinking ‘why are they not consistently like that week-in-week out?'”
