"Top player..." - Chris Sutton hails "outstanding" Celtic star in late comeback vs Rangers

Chris Sutton was full of praise for an “outstanding” Celtic star, after Martin O’Neill‘s side managed to bag a late equaliser at Ibrox.

Spoils shared as Celtic bag late equaliser at Ibrox

The Hoops had a disastrous opening 30 minutes against their bitter rivals, and went into the half-time break 2-0 down, with Youssef Chermiti bagging a brace, but they managed to salvage a point courtesy of a second-half comeback.

Kieran Tierney scored his side’s opening goal, before Reo Hatate bundled home the equaliser in stoppage time, after having his penalty saved by Rangers goalkeeper Jack Butland.

Hatate’s goal keeps the Glasgow giants’ Scottish Premiership title charge alive, but Hearts still have a healthy lead at the top of the table, with the Edinburgh club sitting eight points clear of the Parkhead outfit, who have one game in hand.

Taking to X after the game, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton was quick to praise O’Neill for his substitutions, while he also lauded Hatate for the influence he had on proceedings, saying: “A game of two half’s!! Extraordinary game… Reo Hatate may have sulked all season but he showed what a top player he can be. Outstanding performance and he gave Celtic control. Fair play to him. Martin pro active with his subs and that was key. Great recovery from Celtic.”

Hatate earns start after impressive cameo performance

The 28-year-old has found game time difficult to come by in recent weeks, often being utilised as a substitute, but he has certainly earned a start against Aberdeen on Wednesday night, courtesy of a fantastic second-half cameo at Ibrox.

Celtic’s upcoming Scottish Premiership fixtures	Date
Aberdeen (a)	March 4th
Motherwell (h)	March 14th
Dundee United (a)	March 22nd
Dundee FC (a)	April 4th
St. Mirren (h)	April 11th

Not only did the midfielder score the equalising goal, but he also had four shots on target, more than any other player managed throughout the match, and completed 27 of the 28 passes he attempted, which is a 96% success rate.

Sutton also took the time to praise the Japanese maestro’s performance live on air after the game, making a real difference after Celtic and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were “bullied” during the first half.

Although Celtic will be disappointed not to have taken all three points, they can take some encouragement from their second-half performance, heading into the final ten games of the season.