Nine months on from the conclusion of a season which saw Celtic finish an embarrassing 25 points behind Rangers, the sense of a pendulum swing is impossible to ignore. The finest 90 minutes of Ange Postecoglou’s reign saw Celtic maul Rangers, with the added benefit of moving past their city rivals at the summit of the Scottish Premiership. Incredibly, given the earlier gulf between the teams, Celtic now have to be the favourites to win the league.
It felt appropriate that Reo Hatate, a player coaxed from Japan to Celtic on account of Postecoglou’s direct knowledge, was central to this success. Rangers had nobody on display to match the midfielder’s level of influence. Giovanni van Bronckhorst has Aaron Ramsey to introduce to the fray at some point but this was a bruising night for Rangers and their manager. For all Celtic’s progress, there has been obvious regression at Ibrox. The outcome here was in no way flattering to Celtic, who played with a confidence level of champions in waiting.
