adminCeltic were comprehensively beaten by Rangers on Sunday afternoon as the hosts secured a 3-0 victory at Ibrox in the quarter-final of the Premier Sports Cup.
Martin O’Neill’s side looked uncertain and uncoordinated from the opening stages, and their hosts capitalised fully to claim a comfortable triumph.
Dan Neil scored twice from outside the box, while Kevin Kelsy also opened his Rangers account with a superbly taken volley.
It was a hugely disappointing afternoon for the Bhoys and O’Neill, who could arguably have got his team selection wrong from the beginning.
Celtic have experienced a challenging few weeks following their Champions League qualifying tie against LASK, and their problems came to a head at Ibrox.
A heavy loss in the first Old Firm Derby of the season has left supporters furious, and Chris Sutton is absolutely correct in his assessment of where things went wrong.
Celtic lose midfield battle despite man advantage
O’Neill deployed his preferred 4-3-3 formation, with Benjamin Nygren and new signing Mika Baur positioned on either side of Callum McGregor in midfield.
Rangers opted for a two-man midfield, with Ryan Naderi operating further forward in support of Kelsy at the top of the pitch.
That numerical advantage should have allowed Celtic to gain control of the midfield battle, but in reality, it was anything but.
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton took to X after the match to share his view that Celtic were “mauled” by their rivals, and he attributed the defeat to the make-up of O’Neill’s midfield.
He stated that his former club were “outrun and out-powered” in the centre of the pitch, and suggested that the Bhoys only have players who “can’t run” in that area.
That was plainly visible on Sunday, as the intensity of Rangers duo Neil and Nicolas Raskin controlled the entire contest in the middle of the park.
Concerningly for O’Neill and his coaching staff, with the transfer window now closed, that problem will not be straightforward for them to resolve.
Keith Wyness shares why Rangers made profit from lack of away fans
Former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness told Football Insider earlier this week that both Celtic and Rangers will benefit financially from the absence of away supporters in Old Firm matches.
Sunday’s encounter was the first occasion on which the SFA’s ban was enforced, with the fixtures not expected to return to the traditional allocations until next season.
Wyness explained that both clubs are likely to sell the tickets that would previously have been allocated to visiting supporters at a higher price.
There will also be lower expenses on each matchday due to a reduced requirement for segregation and policing.
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