Rangers star Borna Barisic is out for revenge against Celtic in the Viaplay Cup final on Sunday afternoon - with the Croatian full-back insisting he 'hasn't forgotten' the 2019 cup final loss when Christopher Jullien broke Ibrox hearts.
In a frantic end-to-end game at Hampden Park in 2019, the Light Blues showed signs of getting their hands ont he trophy - after a series of years spent in the shadow of their bitter rivals. Steven Gerrard's men were dominant, Jeremie Frimpong's red card allowed Alfredo Morelos the chance to score from the spot, though his miss summed up the day for Rangers - and with Jullien opening the scoring just three minutes prior, Rangers still have an acrid taste left from that poignant day.
But Barisic says that he and his teammates will be using that pain to heal their own self-inflicted wounds from the Hampden derby loss - stating that he wishes to win it for the club and the fans alongside for the revenge of years gone by.
"Of course, I didn’t forget. I remember how we played and lost that game. Of course, that’s one motivation but not the only one, there are a lot more things. Of course, we remember it. It’s very important of course, a cup final. I don’t need to say much more. We want to win this trophy for our club and fans, it’s a very important one. When you’re together for so long you have good relationships and experience of big games. It will be a tough game but we are ready. Of course, it helps because there is a lot of experience in our squad now. It will help to have experience but it will be a tough game."
Barisic was then asked if he believed that Rangers had closed the gap to Celtic since Beale had taken over; and whilst the Light Blues have been on a superb run of form which has seen them take 13 wins from 14 games, Celtic have also matched said target. Yet whilst the Croat insinuated that his side may have to wait until next season to mount a title charge, he insisted they were focused on a 'one game at a time' mentality.
"You can look at it that way. Maybe it can be a sign that we are on the same level. I’m not thinking about that, I’m just looking at how we can be better every game and in training. That’s our mentality. We won't prepare different. Of course, this game is bigger than some others but we have a lot of experience. You need to be mentally prepared but nothing has changed from previous games."
