Rangers Dominate Old Firm with Tactical Brilliance
Rangers did not just win the Old Firm. They imposed themselves.
This was the kind of snarling, structured, front-foot display many expected to see all season under Derek McInnes: organised without the ball, aggressive in the duels, and ruthless when the attacking four were let loose.
At first glance, the team sheet raised alarms. It looked like a straight 4-4-2, the sort of shape that usually gets swamped against Celtic’s extra midfielder. You could almost script the criticism in advance.
McInnes ripped that script up.
Penrice the pivot, not the passenger
What looked like a traditional two up front was anything but. McInnes used James Penrice as the tactical hinge of the whole operation. Out of possession, Penrice stepped infield, shoring up the central area and cutting off Celtic’s passing lanes. When Rangers had the ball, he drifted wider, underlapping and overlapping Djeidi Gassama, creating angles and confusion on the flank.
It was clever, brave coaching – and it worked.
Behind that shape, the back three set the tone. They bullied Celtic’s front line, won their battles early, and never really loosened their grip. Across 90 minutes, Celtic managed just one shot on target, a tame effort Ivor Pandur could almost have caught with one hand, never mind “thrown his hat on”.
Makhanya the standout
Olwethu Makhanya already looks like the class act of the back line. Composed on the ball, aggressive in the challenge, reading danger early – he has the look of a Rolls-Royce defender built for Scottish football’s physical edge and relentless tempo. Every aerial duel and interception added to the sense that Rangers have found a cornerstone.
In midfield, the energy never dipped. Penrice backed up his tactical role with sheer running power and discipline. Alongside him, Nico Raskin delivered the sort of performance that explains why he is in the Belgium squad – snapping into tackles, recycling possession quickly, and always offering himself as an outlet.
Then there was Dan Neil.
Neil dictated the rhythm of the game, taking the ball under pressure and choosing the right pass time and again. When the chances came, he was ruthless. Two goals, both calmly taken, put a seal on a magnificent individual display. This was a midfielder not just surviving an Old Firm cauldron, but controlling it.
Wide threat pins Celtic back
Out wide, Gassama and Kim Min-su played a different but equally important role. They may not have delivered a stream of inch-perfect final balls, but they did something just as valuable: they forced Celtic’s full-backs to turn and run towards their own goal.
Their direct running pinned Celtic back, stretched the pitch, and made it harder for the visitors to build from deep. Every time Gassama drove at his man or Kim surged forward, Celtic’s defensive line crept a little further towards their own box.
Up front, Kevin Kelsy set the tone physically. He squandered a good early chance, but never hid. His hold-up play was excellent, his movement intelligent, and he dovetailed well with Ryan Naderi. Kelsy repeatedly pinned Cameron Carter-Vickers, backing in, rolling him, refusing to give the Celtic defender a moment’s comfort. When his moment came, he took his goal superbly.
A marker laid down
McInnes called the performance a reference point, and he is right. This is the standard now. The aggression, the structure, the clarity of roles – it all has to travel.
Because the next test is even more demanding.
Rangers must now walk into Celtic Park on Sunday and try to do it again. The game will not look the same. The spaces will be different, the pressure more intense, the crowd hostile. But the requirement is brutally simple: another Rangers result. Even at this stage of the season, slipping eight points behind is not a scenario they can entertain.
Five domestic wins on the spin and a cup semi-final on the horizon would have felt like fantasy in the aftermath of Jablonec. That is the context that makes this Old Firm display feel more than just three points. It feels like a turning of the tide.
The belief is back. The question now is whether Rangers can carry this version of themselves into Celtic’s backyard and keep the momentum rolling.
