Celtic fans will be in buoyant spirits after their side took a major step towards claiming the Scottish Premiership title against Rangers yesterday.
In the first 45, the Bhoys led the way in a dominant display, racing into a two-goal lead courtesy of Matt O’Riley’s low strike and an own goal from John Lundstram, who had a day to forget at Parkhead.
Cyriel Dessers pulled one back for the visitors moments later before Lundstram put the final nail in Rangers’ coffin, being sent for an early bath after a forceful challenge on Alistair Johnston that was upgraded from a yellow to a straight dismissal.
Upon returning from the interval, Celtic were faced with a low block that barely moved from position until the last ten minutes as Philippe Clement’s side attempted to stay within touching distance.
Despite a late rally laden with crosses from wide, Rangers weren’t able to breach Brendan Rodgers’ backline. However, there is an argument that the Hoops should’ve been out of sight, factoring in O’Riley’s penalty miss.
Either way, Celtic deservedly claimed all three points, recording 68% possession, 22 shots on goal to eight, and amassing an Expected Goal tally of 2.81 to their rivals’ 1.02 [Fotmob].
Peter Grant on why Celtic were a gear above Rangers yesterday
On home soil, Celtic were dominant and established their credentials as Scottish Premiership champions-elect, moving six points clear with a sizeable goal difference advantage with just two matches left to play.
Former Hoops midfielder Peter Grant has weighed in on events at Parkhead and believes his old side’s ability to win the midfield battle ultimately gave them the platform to claim a crucial victory.
Citing the impact of Callum McGregor, Grant claimed that Rangers have a tendency to focus on marking key Celtic men out of the game; meanwhile, he indicated the Bhoys aren’t as fearful of their rivals’ creative assets in the engine room, which was the ‘difference’ between the two sides.
He explained [Scottish Football Podcast]: “I think the difference is summed up: every time Rangers play Celtic, they look to stop Celtic playing and their playmaker Callum McGregor.
Celtic don’t go looking for any Rangers player and say, ‘We’re going to stop Lundstram playing’ or ‘We’re going to stop Sterling playing.’ That is the difference; that’s where the quality comes, and that’s what you’ve got in the engine room. Rangers always had that.”
He later added: “They don’t have that now; they don’t have a dominator of the ball, so Celtic don’t worry about them. Rangers worry about them, and it causes them problems. Tom Lawrence was running after him today for a period, but then Hatate was intelligent enough to make space for himself and find acres of space.
“Matt O’Riley’s intelligent enough then to find space and make Rangers get the runaround because they’re not worrying about what Rangers’ playmakers are doing because they don’t think they’ll hurt them, whereas, Celtic will hurt them, and I think that’s the difference between the two teams.”
Celtic have shown why they deserve to be champions
Celtic have a core of their squad who have been over the course several times, showing grit and determination to claim the results required to become champions.
Yesterday’s outcome was a culmination of the hard work Rodgers’ men have put in over the season to put themselves within touching distance.
During challenging moments earlier in the campaign, late victories against Hibernian and Motherwell and drawing at Ibrox in difficult circumstances have led us to the brink of success.
Time and time again, Celtic have withstood external narratives that the tide may be set to turn in Glasgow. They deserve to be champions if they can get the league title over the line next week.