GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 22: Kemar Roofe of Rangers (C) celebrates after scoring their sides second goal during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Rangers and Aberdeen at Ibrox Stadium on November 22, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
Rangers’ 2-0 win over Celtic in the Scottish Cup was the fourth Old Firm Derby of the current season. With the win, the Rangers not only fixed their place in the quarter-finals against St. Johnstone but also prolonged their impressive streak against their big city rivals.
In none of the four derbies did Celtic leave the field as winners. Rangers have settled the Scottish Premiership win weeks ago and also the record against their arch-rivals is impressive this season. The 2-0 victory in the cup was not a brilliant and finely earned achievement, but the Gers‘ victory was never in danger. As the live football trends and statistics from Overlyzer show, Rangers took advantage of an inactive initial phase of the Hoops and took a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from Northern Irishman Steve Davis. The second pressure period in the first half was also converted in a goal: An own goal by Jonjoe Kenny created the final score after just 34 minutes.
As the game progressed, the two teams visibly neutralized each other and a match without any major highlights developed. In the end, there were only six shots on goal, five of them by Rangers. The team of coach Steven Gerrard played the game cleverly to the end, gave the ball to Celtic, operated waiting and reacting. Thus, the table runner-up in the Scottish Premiership had 56% possession in the end, but was hardly dangerous.
In general, the Rangers performed well in direct duels with the big enemy this season. On the 11th match day, two goals by center-back Connor Goldson resulted in a 2-0 away win for the new champions. In the first game of the new year, on January 2nd, it was an own goal by Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor that fixed the Rangers’ 1-0 victory.
Rangers suffered the only point loss against Celtic at the end of March: On matchday 32, the Premiership game at Celtic Park ended in a 1-1 draw. Mohamed Elyounoussi gave Celtic the lead, scoring the only Celtic goal against Rangers this season. However, Colombian striker Alfredo Morelos equalized with his eleventh goal of the season. The Hoops still have a chance of scoring goals and collecting points: On match day 36, Celtic will be visiting Ibrox again. Even if it no longer had any impact on the situation in the league table, John Kennedy’s team would like to take their first win since the League Cup final in December 2019.
The last time that Celtic could not win a single game against the Rangers throughout a season was decades ago: In the 1999-2000 season, Rangers won three games, one game at Celtic Park ended in a draw. The goalscorers for the Rangers this season included players such as Jörg Albertz, Andrei Kanchelskis, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Lorenzo Amoruso. In this season, the Rangers won the championship title 21 points ahead of Celtic.
The most important component of the Old Firm Derby are definitely the fans and the heated atmosphere in the stands. Since the United Kingdom has recently made great strides in terms of corona vaccinations, there could be full stands again next season. This is definitely the thing we are all waiting for to feel the true spirit of that remarkable duel between two traditional football clubs.
