Before the Old Firm Derby, everyone was talking about how Rangers seemed to have covered some gulf between their Old Firm rivals. But Celtic showed everyone why even the departure of Moussa Dembele could not affect them, at least in the Scottish Premiership, this weekend. The Hoops were in cruise control throughout the game and hit the crossbar thrice. If not for Allan McGregor’s heroic goalkeeping, the score could have been more emphatic than a 1-0 defeat for the Gers.
Now the question is, even after 14 signings, where did this Rangers team fall short? Yes, we agree it’s still early days for all of Steven Gerrard’s men playing together, and a few were on the back of a hard game against FC Ufa in Russia, but the significant gulf remains in midfield. The duo of Scott Brown and Olivier Ntcham ran the game in front of their home fans and like Brown later commented after the game, they showed ‘who is the boss.’
He had said,”Performance-wise it was exceptional. From start to finish we dictated. They came to Celtic Park and we pretty much showed them who’s boss for 90 minutes. It’s all about possession and keeping the team spirit going. It’s about kicking on from there onwards.”
Lets first discuss what the captain brings to the table to this team. Brown has now represented the Celts 478 times, and he must have seen everything by now in his career. However, there doesn’t seem to be a drop in the determination or an ounce of complacency in his game. Every game he gets on the pitch, he does his job with minimal fuss.
Even the Hoops fans don’t talk that regularly about him as impressive performances are the norm for him now. That is exactly what he provided in the derby. Even though he was booked early, he ran the show on and off the ball. He was disciplined, set off attacks for his side and broke up play. Such is the standard set by him, that every top performance from him seems like a typical day in the office. Special credit to him as he managed to keep his head when Alfredo Morelos tried to get under his skin probably trying to get him booked again in that game.
On the other hand, Ntcham is just the perfect foil to partner him in midfield. The Frenchman has a more adventurous style of play, and given the quality besides him, he knows that he can leave the defensive duties to his senior partner. But that doesn’t mean that the 22-year-old doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty by doing the nitty gritty job in midfield. He is always willing to commit forward, and that is how his goal came about in the derby as he provided an option by getting into the box. Rightfully he was named the man of the match in the game.
As long as opponents don’t stop these two midfield powerhouses, they would get run over by this Celtic side. Rangers’ midfield of Ryan Jack and Ovie Ejaria were taught a lesson on how to control the game from the middle of the park. Probably the only way this duo can be stopped is when Ntcham is sold in the future as he already drew a good amount of attention in the summer transfer window.
