Once again, however, they lacked the “efficiency” so badly craved by Le Guen as they squandered an abundance of chances either side of the half-time recess.
Celtic, forced on to the back foot for the bulk of the 90 minutes, barely created a fraction of the opportunities afforded Rangers but took the one that mattered when Thomas Gravesen thumped a volley past Allan McGregor after 38 minutes.
Rangers dominated thereafter but needed a Brahim Hemdani late strike just to take a point when they had played so valiantly and deserved a whole lot more for their efforts.
This was a match the Light Blues realistically had to win if they were to retain any conceivable hope of a tilt at the title and unsurprisingly Le Guen made wholesale changes to the side that had beaten Partizan Belgrade three days previously.
Dado Prso, Barry Ferguson, Libor Sionko and Charlie Adam were all reinstated to the starting line-up after being rested in midweek, allowing Hemdani to return to the defence to partner Karl Svensson.
Even a 16-point pre-Christmas deficit couldn’t dilute the passion and fervour whipped up by the home supporters as Rangers looked to maintain their recent impressive form that had resulted in five victories in their previous six league matches.
Celtic made their intentions known right from kick-off, deploying the towering if somewhat ungainly figure of Jiri Jarosik in attack and sending in a series of high balls to test the rather shorter figure of Hemdani.
Despite a few scary moments, Celtic’s best chance early on was a speculative 35-yard effort from Neil Lennon that skidded wide of the post.
After a slow start Rangers started to claw their way back into proceedings and should have gone in front after 18 minutes.
Charlie Adam’s initial free kick was thudded into the defensive wall but fell kindly for Svensson who lofted the ball back into the penalty box where Ferguson had escaped his marker and beaten the offside trap.
As Ibrox held its breath in expectation, Ferguson – who had seen an earlier attempt well clutched by Artur Boruc – brought the ball down expertly on his chest only to then wastefully hoof his volley high into the stand.
If the keeper was a virtual spectator during that incident then he was considerably busier minutes later when he expertly tipped Novo’s bending shot around the post after a mistake from Neil Lennon.
When Prso then headed wide from an Adam corner you began to wonder if this perhaps wasn’t going to be Rangers’ day.
That sensation was heightened on the half hour mark when referee Kenny Clark awarded a penalty when Prso was dragged down by Lee Naylor only for the linesman’s flag to overrule it with the Croatian adjudged to have been offside when he received Novo’s reverse pass.
Predictably, as has happened so often in the recent past, Rangers would rue their profligacy as Celtic went in front.
Naylor’s cross was missed in the centre by Allan McGregor and dribbled to the back post where Gravesen, in acres of space, took his time before powering an effort that flew high into the net.
It was a real sickening blow for a Rangers side that had dominated for the bulk of the first half although they were handed a lifeline just moments later when Steven Smith seemed to trip Lennon in the box only for the referee to overlook it and award a goal kick.
If McGregor had been partially culpable at Celtic’s goal then he more than atoned for it early in the second half when he kept Rangers in the game with a fantastic block to keep out Aiden McGeady’s well-struck half-volley.
Rangers were getting closer to scoring and Prso’s thumping volley clattered off the post with the keeper beaten before Sionko’s rebound attempt clipped the other post and slithered agonisingly wide.
It seemed inevitable that Rangers would eventually score and Novo came agonisingly close to doing so but dragged his shot wide with the goal at his mercy before Sionko’s effort was gathered well by the keeper.
That was the Czech’s last involvement before being replaced by Filip Sebo and the striker passed up the chance to be bestowed with instant hero status when he seemed to completely miss a tempting Adam cross with the goal at his mercy.
As Rangers turned the screw, Boruc made another spectacular save to deny Svensson what would have been his first ever goal for the club.
The goal that they so richly deserved came with just two minutes remaining. A loose ball fell kindly for Hemdani and his fierce shot fizzed over Boruc with the aid of a deflection.
Sebo had a chance in injury time to earn his side all three points but the keeper again did well to block his effort.
RANGERS (4-4-2): 22 McGregor; 20 Hutton, 19 Svensson, 7 Hemdani, 26 Smith; 14 Sionko (Sebo 71), 6 Ferguson, 8 Clement, 25 Adam (Buffel 80); 10 Novo, 9 Prso
Subs not used: Klos, Papac, Rae, Rodriguez, Stanger
Booked: Sebo (85)
CELTIC (4-4-2): 1 Boruc; 12 Wilson, 6 Balde, 44 McManus, 3 Naylor; 25 Nakamura (Pearson 71), 16 Gravesen, 18 Lennon, 46 McGeady; 7 Zurawski, 20 Jarosik (Miller 71)
Subs not used: Marshall, Riordan, O’Dea, Sno, Telfer
Booked: McGeady (55), McManus (80)