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Kris Boyd picked out Rangers attacker Ianis Hagi for huge praise after his performance in the weekend’s Old Firm victory over Celtic.

Steven Gerrard’s men extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table to 19 points over rivals Celtic, who do have three games in hand.

The Light Blues secured a narrow 1-0 win at Ibrox, with Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor netting an unfortunate own goal from a corner kick.

Rangers looked miles off the pace in the opening 45 minutes and were outplayed by the defending league champions, but they flicked a switch in the second-half and the sending off of Celtic defender Nir Bitton really turned the game in their favour.

Boyd singled out Gers star Hagi as one individual that has a big impact on the result.

Despite being in great form of late, the 22-year-old dropped down to the bench for the Glasgow derby and was only introduced at half-time with his side second best.

The skilful wide player added a real attacking intent for the hosts with his willingness to drive forward in possession and also managed to hold up the ball to help his team get a grip on the match.

“Ianis Hagi was probably unfortunate [not to start]. He’s been probably the star man and he’s been left out today,” Boyd told Sky Sports’ Main Event channel (2:55pm, 2 January).

“He made a big difference that second-half. Yes, you can point to the sending off, but him coming in gave Rangers more of a balance in there. I thought when Hagi came on he got on the ball, he made things happen and it was a good afternoon for him.”

TBR’s View:

Hagi’s red-hot form meant that he’d always have confidence entering the action on Saturday and he injected the kind of positive spark that his team desperately needed.

The forward looks like he has to be a starter in Gerrard’s side when he’s in this kind of form, as he’s playing with such confidence right now

After picking up another three points, Rangers have become favourite to win the league title this season and they’ll now have to deal with a different kind of pressure as a group.