And the defeat was made worse by a very unseemly touchline bust-up between manager Dick Advocaat and £6.5million defender Michael Ball. Advocaat flew into a rage after Ball gave him a piece of his mind. He raged at the former Everton man and pushed him on the chest.
Ironically, it was Ball’s replacement Peter Lovenkrands who gave Rangers some hope of rescuing the game when he scored 14 minutes from time but the Light Blues had left themselves too much to do after falling behind to Joos Valgaeren’s goals and a Henrik Larsson penalty.
Overall it just was not good enough and not for the first time Celtic did not need to play at their best to win the game. It the worst Rangers’ run against their oldest rivals for 29 years but whether this has any bearing on Advocaat’s future is unclear.
The crucial aspect was that Rangers did not take the lead when they played their best stuff and it always looked difficult after they fell behind.
The disappointment of some can be the making of others and the fact that Fernando Ricksen was not playing gave Maurice Ross the chance to come in for a first taste of this unique atmosphere.
And there were just four minutes on the clock when they young Dundonian almost produced the most amazing start to his Old Firm debut.
Claudio Reyna’s corrner from the right was flicked on by Ronald de Boer and Ross hammered a left foot volley at the back post which Rab Douglas expertly pushed past the post, having narrowed the angle sufficiently.
It was indicative of the smart start Rangers had made to the match as they looked sharper and more precise than Celtic. That said Michael Ball suffered a worrying moment in eight minutes when he brought down Henrik Larsson on the right side of the box in eight minutes to earn a caution. Cetic, though, could do nothing with the freekick.
In particular, the good movement of Shota Arveladze and Tore Andre Flo was causing considerable disquiet to the Celtic defence and in 10 minutes they almost combined to deadly effect. Shota skipped away from Johan Mjallby on the left side and produced a decent cross but Flo could not get enough power in his header and Douglas saved comfortably.
The two strikers linked even better in 20 minutes and Celtic were desperately fortunate to survive. It was John Hartson who was responsible for the opportunity when he gave the ball away to Arveladze on the left side.
The Georgian burst down the left and then played a lovely ball into Flo, who moved onto his left foot and beat Douglas with a well struck shot but it smacked off the base of the right hand post and Celtic escaped. It was to prove a costly miss. Had Rangers scored at that stage it might have been a different story.
In fairness, Celtic had also tested Stefan Klos by this stage when he had to hold Larsson’s long range shot in 11 minutes but it was Rangers who were the better side in the first half. Douglas made another good save drom de Boer’s volley in 32 minutes and then a minute later Bobo Balde made a great block on Flo’s right foot shot.
Celtic, though, were a different prospect in the early moments of the second half and they took the lead in 57 minutes, although there was an element of opportunism about it.
Petrov’s freekick from the right took a deflection off Ball and was then diverted into the six yard box by Balde. Joos Valgaeren came sliding in to force the ball into the net. It was a killer blow to Rangers, who had started the first half pretty well.
De Boer found himself in space in 52 minutes when he collected Numan’s great delivery from the left but instead of shooting first time he tried to cut the ball back to Flo and the chance was lost.
Celtic got the break of the ball in 62 minutes when Ross drove in a low shot from the right which hit Mjallby on both ankles and might have broken for Flo but fell kindly for a relieved Douglas.
Advocaat knew he had to change things and introduced Caniggia in 63 minutes for Arveladze who had fallen out of the game after a decent first half. However, the Argentinian hardly had time to make an impact when Rangers found themselves two down in 68 minutes.
Amoruso got caught on the wrong side when Neil Lennon played a good pass through for Larsson in the left channel and Rangers were bang in trouble. Konterman tried to get back to cover up for Amoruso who had lost his man and only succeeded in knocking the Swede over to concede a penalty.
The Rangers players debated the issue, with both Reyna and Ferguson collecting bookings, but Stuart Dougal’s decision looked like the correct one. Larsson made no mistake from the spot and Rangers had a mountain to climb.
They did, however, give themselves a lifeline when Peter Lovenkrands slid in to score on his Old Firm debut in 76 minutes but it was his introduction to the game for Michael Ball which was perhaps more explosive.
Ball was clearly unhappy at coming off and exchanged words with Advocaat and Jan Wouters, prompting the Rangers manager to rage back at him and shove him up the tunnel. Kitman Jimmy Bell completed the job, almost dragging the former Everton defender with him.
It was a remarkable moment, but it was largely forgotten when Lovenkrands scored. It was a great goal as de Boer slid a lovely pass in for Caniggia whose back post ball was perfect for Lovenkrands who side-footed a left foot shot into the net.
Billy Dodds was then introduced for Ross as Rangers fought desperately to snatch an equaliser. However, Celtic held firm to hold on for a priceless win which means that, barring a disastrous slump, Celtic will be holding onto the Championship.
Rangers played well in large parts of the game, but their defending at times left a lot to be desired. It was a must win game and Rangers could not achieve it. Advocaat will now have to use all of his powers to lift a squad who know how difficult their task now is.
CELTIC: Douglas; Balde, Mjallby, Valgaeren; Petrov, Lennon, Lambert, Petta; Moravcik (Maloney 55); Hartson (McNamara 70), Larsson. Subs not used – Gould, Thompson, Crainey.
Bookings: Moravcik (12), Harstson (16)
RANGERS: Klos; Amoruso, Konterman, Ball (Lovekrands 73); Ross (Dodds 80), Reyna, Ferguson, Numan; de Boer, Flo, Arveladze (Caniggia 63). Subs not used – Christiansen, Wilson.
Bookings: Ball (8), Reyna (68), Ferguson (68), Konterman (74)
Ref: Stuart Dougal.
Att:59,609.
Man of the match: Arthur Numan
Moment of the match: Lovenkrands’ debut strike.