Rangers And Celtic Experience Unexpected Defeats In Scottish Premiership Matches

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Rangers experienced another setback in their challenging season with a 2-0 defeat to St Mirren at Ibrox. This result leaves Celtic comfortably 13 points ahead in the Scottish Premiership, despite their own 2-1 loss to Hibernian. Earlier this week, Rangers' chief executive Patrick Stewart publicly backed Philippe Clement, even as the team struggles in the title race and was eliminated from the Scottish Cup by Queen's Park.

St Mirren's victory over Rangers was marked by Mikael Mandron's goal in the 51st minute. Initially disallowed due to a perceived foul on Clinton Nsiala, a VAR review overturned the decision, revealing that Nsiala had tripped himself. This came after an earlier VAR intervention favoured Rangers when Hamza Igamane's red card for a challenge on Mark O'Hara was reduced to a yellow.

Cyriel Dessers missed a crucial opportunity to equalise for Rangers in the 65th minute. The game slipped further away from them when Toyosi Olusanya scored with 20 minutes left. This win propelled St Mirren into the top six of the league standings, while Rangers remain significantly behind Celtic, who suffered only their second domestic defeat of the season earlier that day.

Meanwhile, Hibernian secured a notable victory against Celtic at Easter Road. Josh Campbell scored twice in the first half, with his first goal coming just two minutes into the match. He then doubled Hibs' lead by heading in Martin Boyle's cross shortly before halftime. Despite Daizen Maeda scoring for Celtic after 68 minutes, Hibs held firm through eight minutes of injury time to secure their win.

This victory keeps Hibernian fifth in the league with 37 points, trailing Dundee United by three points. Celtic's defeat follows their recent Champions League exit against Bayern Munich and marks only their second domestic loss this season.

The weekend results highlight both Rangers' ongoing struggles and Celtic's rare slip-up. While St Mirren capitalised on their chances to climb up the table, Hibs demonstrated resilience against one of Scotland's top teams. As the season progresses, both Glasgow clubs face challenges to maintain their positions and aspirations within Scottish football.