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The Rangers have shown that they can control Celtic in the second game from the rebound and have shown that when it comes to purely football competition, there is only one winner.
On Saturday, that was no different. From the moment Connor Goldson’s header landed behind Barkas, the Rangers were in no danger of losing.
I agree with Steven Gerrard’s post-game comments when he suggested that the Rangers weren’t in their best flowing form, they weren’t because it wasn’t necessary.
It was more of a Saturday outing for the Rangers, and yes I’m a bit frivolous because the whole team worked so hard outside of possession to make the Celtic winger threat redundant, but we’re really at the stage where Steven Gerrard has Neil Lennon’s number in a tactical sense.
The Rangers have not changed since the narrow 4-3-3 of the previous two derbies. Lennon moved into a back three in January to try and fight our front trio and they found him wanting.
Govan’s men look better and seem to be better trained.
Frankly, when you limit Celtic at Parkhead to not shooting at the target without playing their best, the players and the management team are doing something right. Celtic will point out that Edouard and Christie will not be available along with their two Israelis, but the Rangers pulled Kemar Roofe, Ryan Jack and Joe Aribo on the bench and the absent Niko Katic out. Surely, if you don’t trust any member of your squad, shouldn’t they be at the club?
For me, the game was reduced to hunger. A battle in the middle of the park, in particular: Oliver Ntcham versus Glen Kamara – their duels were a microcosm of the entire match.
One guy was willing to do it and used the ball almost perfectly, while the other, make no mistake, is a good player, was bullied.
When you look at the stature of both players, you would think this is one for Ntcham to win, but he and Callum McGregor went into hiding and left Scott Brown to try and manage the midfield on their own.
Kamara was ably assisted by the quality and calm of Steven Davis, and Arfield’s industry to give the Rangers control of the game.
It’s almost as if Celtic fans think this is the same Rangers team that contains Lee Hodson, Sean Goss, Russell Martin and company.
They’re completely dismissive of this Rangers team, and yes, they’ve won all the trophies as of late, but they have a challenge in these head-to-head matches. It is irritating that they are only now realizing what has been going on.
The Rangers now have four clearings. Right now it doesn’t mean anything. They can play better and they will have to do so to beat the likes of Livingston and Kilmarnock in our next two league games.
The test, as it has been since the arrival of Steven Gerrard, is if you can have a proper winning streak of games, can you get this group of players to take care of the games they should be looking after?
As always, that will be the Rangers’ challenge.
Saturday will not give the Rangers a title in May because Celtic will shoot and win the games they are expected to win and it is time for Gerrard’s men to follow suit; There is no excuse because quality is definitely within the template to do it.
The Rangers now seem to have a similar confidence to Scott Brown and Leigh Griffiths when they praised people like the aforementioned Sean Goss when it comes to these games. It’s almost as if the players are treating their counterparts with utter contempt.
Too many times before Gerrard’s arrival, the games were lost in the tunnel, but now the Rangers’ newfound attitude and the coach’s tactical prowess are really coming to the fore.
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