Andy Halliday and Kris Boyd agree on Rangers ace ‘head and shoulders the best’ vs Celtic

Does Hamza Igamane’s stunning late winner earn him an extra individual accolade to sit on his mantelpiece?

Mohamed Diomande continued his fine form under Barry Ferguson by scoring the goal which put Rangers 2-0 up at half-time at Parkhead. Rangers News, meanwhile, felt that a colossal John Souttar was the best player on the park.

But Andy Halliday, a man who played in the centre of the pitch against Celtic himself in Old Firm derbies while suffering 4-0 and 5-0 defeats, could look no further than Nico Raskin.

In a week in which Raskin earned his first call up for the Belgian national team, and played a major role as Rangers reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League, this pocket rocket dynamo again proved that, while he may be relatively small in size, he is gigantic in influence.

Raskin flicked home the opener with a clever header.

Former Rangers striker Kris Boyd thinks Ferguson is getting the best out of Diomande in the Ivorian’s more attack-minded position. He stroked in Rangers’ second, but it was made by another driving run forwards from another midfielder.

With Connor Barron playing deeper, Raskin had the freedom to bomb on and flick James Tavernier’s cross into Diomande’s path. A goal and an assist, plus the most tackles of any Rangers player.

“On a day where Rangers had so many stand-out performers, I thought Nico Raskin was head and shoulders the best player on the pitch,” Halliday says. “Head and shoulders!

“And what a week he’s had! Man of the Match, a goal and assist in an Old Firm game… It’s crazy. This new diet he’s on, there’s some engine in him.

“I thought, to a man, Rangers were excellent,”player on the pitch,” Halliday says. “Head and shoulders!