Errors aplenty and more mistakes than you could shake an angry fist at. Same old, same old, in other words.
When you break down all the forced fumbles, blown coverages and chaotic decision making that contributed to a rollicking game at Celtic Park, however, there were still some (very) rough patterns to be detected on both sides of the ball. This contest was about players trying to force the other fella to slip up. Applying pressure until the only choice available was a risky one. And then pouncing to punish the most glaring clangers.
As Michael Beale studied his post-game videos, his over-riding conclusion may well have been that there is no legislating for the sorts of howlers that saw both central defenders gift goals to the opposition.
But he’ll also understand that Celtic worked for their luck. And knew where to squeeze in order to create chances. Beale’s Rangers were the better side for much of the first half, with their pressing game working pretty well (see Photo 1), Malik Tillman regularly joining Alfredo Morelos to stop Celtic building up from the back.
As we see from Photo 2, however, there’s a danger in pressing Ange Postecoglou’s men. If they can break that first line, Callum McGregor gets on the ball in time and space; this counter actually ended with a shot on target from the home captain. Celtic, when they got into the opposition final third, used their tried-and-tested rotations with their most advanced midfielders to draw defenders away from the ball, with the running of Aaron Mooy (see Photo 3) creating space for Jota to cut in and shoot.
This forced Rangers to sit deep. And to commit the cardinal sin, for the opening goal, of simply not tracking one of those runners driving into the golden zone between the opposition defence and midfield lines. Look at Photo 4 and you’ll see Matt O’Riley running unmarked and unconfronted in between the two units, ready to take the ball into the box with his first touch and cross for Kyogo to score.
Celtic’s ability to strike quickly, identified here in the Tactics Zone as a key threat before the game, was also evident as they grew into the game, with Photo 5 showing the danger as a quick goal kick gave Alistair Johnston the chance to send Jota free into masses of space down the right wing.
The Rangers equaliser was obviously a stunner. And they won the free-kick through application and adventure in and around the box, the running of Ryan Kent giving Tillman loads of space (Photo 6) to wreak havoc – and draw the foul from O’Riley.
Most teams can be made to look vulnerable, meanwhile, by a quick switch of play – and Alfredo Morelos really should have scored after his cross-field pass to Tavernier was fizzed back into the area by the full-back just four minutes into the second half (see Photo 7), forcing Alistair Johnston into a sloppy header that actually hits Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Celtic’s second and third goals couldn’t have happened, obviously, without misjudgements by Ben Davies and then John Souttar, the latter making his first start since July as a replacement for late injury call-off Conor Goldson.
But it’s worth noting that Jota was finding great areas to play an increasingly influential role (see Photo 8). The first phase of the move leading to Kyogo’s second (Photo 9) again shows the winger in a great crossing position.
If Souttar’s pass back to no-one was an even bigger gaffe, well, just check out the Celtic press – five players cutting off all options bar the pass back – that left him with only one choice, to knock the ball back to his keeper (Photo 10). The rest was down to him. And Jota. That should have been that. Especially as Celtic had pretty effectively denied Rangers opportunities to generate space on the wings, restricting the number of crosses – still a major source of chances for Beale’s men – the visitors could stick into the penalty box.
But, from the second phase of a set-piece, they were caught out by precisely the sort of full-back to full-back ball – albeit one where Borna Barisic and Tavernier had swapped wings – that would have featured prominently in Postecoglou’s opposition analysis (Photo 11). And they very nearly got an equaliser from a more traditional interaction between the two overlapping defenders with 11 minutes remaining (Photo 12).
Ultimately, this was a fixture where both coaches were reminded of their own limitations; no touchline boss has yet managed to score a goal or save a screamer from the technical area. Each brought their influence to bear upon proceedings, though. Rangers certainly got much closer to Celtic than they did at Hampden in February’s Viaplay Cup Final.
But that will be scant consolation to Beale, who saw Postecoglou rewarded for continuing to throw full-backs forward and send midfielders tearing into killer areas, recording seven shots on target to their opponents’ three – and capitalising on a couple of (partly) forced errors to claim victory.
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