'Rangers' Scottish Cup win over Celtic completes extraordinary Old Firm power shift'
- Published
Highlights: Rangers 2-0 Celtic
At the peak of their powers, Celtic had a capacity to not just beat Rangers but humiliate them with their pace, width and ruthlessness in front of goal.
If it wasn't Moussa Dembele inflicting the pain it was Odsonne Edouard in his stead. If it wasn't Stuart Armstrong it was Ryan Christie who took over his mantle.
If it wasn't Scott Sinclair on one side of the field it was James Forrest on the other, Scott Brown and Callum McGregor tying it all together in midfield. They were an unstoppable force. Were. Everything has changed now, changed utterly.
Now it's the excellent Ryan Kent showing up Brown with a turn that bamboozled the Celtic captain in the lead-up to the first goal at Ibrox. Now it's Stephen Welsh taking out Kent with a hit that big Jonny Gray would have been proud of at Murrayfield because in that blur of Rangers movement the defender had no idea what else to do. Now it's Steven Davis, 36 years young, scoring with an overhead kick the way Dembele might have done.
Now it's Joe Aribo twisting Diego Laxalt into oblivion and Kristoffer Ajer not being aware or hard-working enough to appreciate the danger his team were in. It's one culpable Celtic defender remonstrating with another after a third Celtic defender turns the ball into his own net for the second goal.
Jaded Celtic shown up by best team in Scotland
Rangers' key men all turned up. They established the 2-0 lead with two brilliantly taken goals and then defended it. By the end, Celtic were a jaded lot. Out of energy, out of ideas, out of the cup.
This is how it used to be. Only back then it was Celtic fans banging out the memes of Rangers slapstick on social media and it was the Celtic fans basking in their own superiority and weighing up the vast numbers their star players would command in the transfer market when they were sold after the 10th title in a row.
The value of these Celtic players has depreciated considerably since the start of the season. Edouard was once the jewel in the crown, the striker with a valuation in the tens of millions. How much would a suitor offer for him now? There was talk of Ajer going to AC Milan for £15m, of others exiting for chunky fees. Ajer's stock has plummeted.
If these, or similar sums, were being banked on to part fund the rebuilding of the team then there might have to be a rethink. Rangers have all the appreciating assets now. The transformation in Glasgow has been extraordinary.
Watching Celtic creating chances and being foiled by their own poor finishing and by Allan McGregor's class, the mind drifted back to the League Cup final of 2019. On that occasion, Rangers had multiple opportunities to hit a barn door from close range, but failed even from the penalty spot because Fraser Forster was unbreakable on the day.
The Celtic fans made merry. The events at Ibrox on Sunday reminded you of that final in some senses. The parts where Celtic failed to find a breakthrough at least. For Forster, read McGregor. For Alfredo Morelos missing from the spot, read Edouard. If John Kennedy didn't know it last week, he knows it now - Rangers are the best team in Scotland, by a margin.
Celtic's Odsonne Edouard failed to beat Allan McGregor from the penalty spot
Celtic's managerial matter of urgency
If Celtic have a card with Eddie Howe's face on it tucked up their sleeve, now would be an opportune time to flourish it. Quite frankly, they could do with the distraction.
For the first time in five years and one day they lost a Scottish Cup tie. For the first time in 11 years they will finish a season trophyless. St Johnstone have taken their League Cup, Rangers have taken the league they've owned for close to, but not quite, 10 seasons, and now this prize has gone too.
The Celtic board better have some good news for their demoralised support or else Dominic McKay, the incoming chief executive, is going to find that his honeymoon period lasts for as long as it takes him to get from the car park to the front door.
No welcoming committee, no warm words from the fans upon his arrival. Just question upon question about positions that need filling and a project that needs starting. Celtic had three loan players in their team on Sunday. They had another, Brown, who's playing out his last weeks at the club. They had others who may be planning a departure.
There is some doubt - do they want to stay or do they deserve to stay - around practically every player bar Welsh, David Turnbull and Forrest, who missed this loss through injury. When McKay sits down at his desk the top of his head will be barely visible for the mountain of things in his in-tray. Howe's announcement as manager had better come quickly.
Rangers were excellent in the critical moments at Ibrox. Kent, Aribo, Davis - when the game was there to be won, they won it. They were clinical where Celtic were wasteful. In his first season, Brendan Rodgers got his team playing with a cleverness, intensity and elan that is now becoming a feature of Rangers' play.
They haven't hit the heights of Rodgers' invincible season, but they're developing an aura now. They're in Celtic's heads. The psychology has completely shifted. Gerrard has taken over Rodgers' mantle as the Old Firm manager with intelligence and energy and an ability to pass that pass on to his players.
Celtic's response next season will be interesting. They need to get on with it.