Crisis continues – Rod Stewart witnesses Celtic's 1-3 defeat in city derby against Rangers

The mood was still good: Sir Rod arriving at Celtic Park before the match against Rangers

It was one of the worst afternoons of the season for all Celtic Football Club fans. The struggling champions, who have won only two games since new manager Wilfried Nancy took over at the beginning of December, suffered their sixth defeat of the season, losing 1:3 (1:0) in the heated city derby against arch-rivals Rangers. The Hoops have lost every game since the Frenchman took over on 4 December.

There were still about 20 minutes left on the clock when most of the 60,000 fans in green and white slunk away disappointed. Their Bhoys in Green played strongly in the first half and deservedly led 1-0 thanks to a goal from Hyun-Jun Yang in the 20th minute. The home side missed further excellent scoring opportunities before the break, partly because Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland was having a great day and was able to shine with a string of saves. Nevertheless, few Celtic fans doubted that their team would secure their 172nd derby victory against the Gers, who were still well served at half-time and only trailed 0-1. In the stands, Sir Rod was also in good spirits and deeply confident about the rest of the match.

But in the second 45 minutes, the tide turned. Suddenly, Rangers were on top, Celtic hardly got a look in, let alone any more promising attacks. And so it came to pass: with a brace within nine minutes, Rangers striker Youssef Chermiti turned the game in the visitors' favour (50th and 59th minutes). In the stands at Celtic Park, which was anything but ‘paradise’ in the second half, sheer horror spread. Even Rod Stewart, sitting in his usual seat at the top, was thoroughly dismayed by the course of the game after the break, and the Hoops superfan sat motionless on his chair with his lips pursed.

On Thursday, the singer had posted a video on his social media channels in which he tried to convey that, despite the recent setbacks, he believed in a good derby for his Bhoys. ‘Good luck, Rangers,’ he had called out a little heretically at the end of his short video, clearly believing firmly in a home win for the green and whites.

But by the 71st minute at the latest, even Rod had to admit that his famous shot would probably backfire, because it was at that very minute that Mikey Moore scored the decisive 3-1 for Rangers, and the mass exodus from the stands mentioned at the beginning began at Celtic Park.

In the end, the Hoops players also slunk off the pitch with their heads bowed, accompanied by loud boos from the disappointed crowd. The fans' anger was also, and probably primarily, directed at the seemingly overwhelmed manager, who once again failed to instil the winning spirit in his team or to convey a successful tactic. Whether and how long team manager Nancy will be allowed to remain at Celtic Park will be decided in the coming days. In the meantime, the fans are almost unanimously calling for the return of club legend Martin O'Neill, who had enjoyed a very successful spell before Nancy was appointed, including a strong 3-1 win in the Europa League at Feyenoord Rotterdam.

Today's defeat means that Celtic have lost further ground in the battle for the top of the Scottish Premiership table and the championship. They are now six points behind leaders Heart of Midlothian (who beat Livingston 1-0 today), and Rangers have caught up with the defending champions on points and goal difference, with Celtic currently in second place only on the basis of their superior goal difference.