Rangers coach Michael Beale believes the Gers were responsible for losing their Old Firm clash against Celtic, shooting themselves in the foot.
Steven Gerrard’s men were handed a 2-1 defeat by the Hoops on Sunday at Parkhead as the defending champions opened up a mammoth 13-point lead at the summit of the league table.
The Gers were a goal down and reduced to 10-men before the half-time interval as Odsonne Edouard opened the scoring for the hosts, before Alfredo Morelos picked up his fifth red card of the season.
However, Rangers clawed their way back into the game in the second half, as they restored parity through Ryan Kent, before James Forrest settled the game in the dying embers of the game as the visitors rued their missed chances.
And in the wake of their Old Firm defeat, Beale feels the loss was mainly due to Rangers shooting themselves in the foot with red cards and missed chances rather than Celtic dominating.
The Light Blues coach stressed that Rangers certainly had their moments during the game and reiterated they only have themselves to blame by conceding poorly and not making the best use of their chances.
“I think everyone watching the game or in the stadium would have felt we would be the team which would go on to win”, Beale told Rangers TV.
“We had just missed a huge opportunity to go to 2-1 and we were the team with the ball – you could sense it in their crowd and you could hear our 800 over their 60,000 at that moment and I think their bench was very anxious.
“Again, we shot ourselves in the foot, so we only have ourselves to blame.
“Ultimately, it says the other team won the game, but I would like to think we threw it away because the sending-off certainly hampers us.
“The two goals we give away are really disappointing as we have those same opportunities and don’t score, so I think when you look back on the season, it has to be our reflection that things were in our hands and ultimately, we haven’t taken those opportunities that were presented to us.”
Morelos, who played just 30 minutes before being sent off on Sunday, has been suspended for four games after becoming the first player in Europe to pick up five red cards this season.
