RANGERS produced a commanding victory in the final Old Firm clash of the season on Saturday afternoon – and here’s our data-driven match review of the triumph at Ibrox.
The victory ended a six-match winless run for the Light Blues against Celtic, marking their greatest margin of victory over the Parkhead side since the 4-1 win at Ibrox in May 2021.
The Gers raced out of the blocks quickly in front of an expectant Ibrox crowd, netting inside six minutes when Todd Cantwell fired low through Joe Hart’s legs after the Celtic goalkeeper was forced to palm John Lundstram’s powerful effort into a dangerous area.
“We started really aggressively, we started on the front foot, and I think that is when we are at our best,” John Souttar told RangersTV. “Especially in Old Firm's if you start well usually more than often you are the better team so for us to start the way we did was massive, and the crowd got behind us and the atmosphere got behind us and it really drove us on.”
Indeed, it is the third time in the last eight Old Firm league encounters at Ibrox that Rangers have opened the scoring inside ten minutes, following James Tavernier’s early free-kick in May 2019 and Aaron Ramsey’s third minute strike last season.
The opening goal provided the exclamation point on another impressive showing from Cantwell, who has now scored in back-to-back matches as a player for the first time since March 2021.
The midfielder’s first half goal also took his tally in a Rangers jersey to six goals in 11 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, averaging out to just over a goal every other league outing.
In the meantime, the Gers strengthened their set-piece output as they doubled their advantage through a header from Souttar in the first half. “It is something we work on with Harry [Watling] to attack that front post and drag them in, and thankfully we did that,” the Scotland international told RangersTV. “It was a great delivery from the skipper, and I was there to put it in.”
The work from the ‘set-piece committee’, led by first-team development coach Harry Watling on the training pitch, continues to bear fruit on matchdays under boss Michael Beale, with the Gers netting 17 times from direct or indirect set-piece situations since the manager’s opening league game against Hibernian in December.
The manager spoke prior to the match about being decisive in ‘both boxes’, and he was rewarded with a second successive clean sheet from his charges. Academy graduate Robby McCrorie, who has been given the nod between the sticks in both post-split league fixtures, has now kept four clean sheets in as many starts as a Rangers player.
The 25-year-old’s ability to sweep up behind the backline was evident on several occasions, while he made a terrific stop at 2-0 from Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley to keep the Gers firmly in control of the contest.
Nicolas Raskin, who epitomised his side’s energy with 13 ball recoveries in midfield, highlighted the importance of McCrorie’s contribution: "I am very happy for Robby - two games and two clean sheets is good for the defence. We knew if we could get the clean sheet at home then we could score goals and win the game, and that is what happened."
The Ibrox side have now registered successive clean sheets in the league for the second time in 2023, continuing their strong home record under Beale this term.
At the opposite end of the pitch, Saturday’s victory marked the 11th time that the Gers have scored three or more goals in a Scottish Premiership match under the manager.
The Gers boss spoke about the importance of giving supporters ‘oxygen’ heading into pre-season and, with changes already underway at the club, the victory provided both staff and players with important belief.
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