Celtic’s draw with Rangers at Ibrox is a game we will look back at and think, what if?
What if Daizen Maeda had buried his first-half opportunity to make it 3-0? What if John Beaton had just ignored the advice he got from VAR and never awarded a penalty? And what if Callum McGregor had just smashed the ball to safety instead of playing that crossfield pass just before Rangers’ equaliser?
At the end of the day, Celtic deserved to win and had it not been for the match officials and their interfering with Fabio Silva’s dive, that’s certainly what would, and should, have happened.
However, the 3-3 result still stands, Celtic are still top of the Scottish Premiership and the destination of the title is still in their own hands.
But John Hartson has a different view. The former Celtic hero delivered his instant reaction to the result and said that if one player had done something simple, then Rangers may not have gotten their late Ibrox equaliser.
Hartson points the finger at Hyunjun Yang
At the end of the day, most Celtic fans will look at VAR and say that the interference of the video referee ultimately affected the outcome of the game.
But, there was still a lot of football to be played and had Celtic cut out the individual errors in the lead-up to Rangers equaliser, all three points would have been heading back to Paradise.
Hartson didn’t point the finger at the Celtic captain for that, instead, the big Welshman took to social media and said that Hyunjun Yang should have done better at dealing with Rabbi Matondo before he got his shot away.
And it’s these small margins that are so crucial at this stage of the season. Look, Celtic played well in the first half.
Truth be told, the game should have been well out of sight had Maeda taken his chance and Matt O’Riley buried his header in the first half.
As it turns out, the spoils have been shared and Celtic head back to Parkhead with a vital point which will prove crucial in the race for the title.
Putting it plainly, all Brendan Rodgers‘ side needs to do is win their remaining six games and they will be crowned the champions.
Whilst pointing the finger at individual mistakes doesn’t help the result, hopefully, it will teach the players that they must be on the ball for every second they are on the park if they want to successfully defend the title this season.