Rangers 3-0 Celtic: What we learned from Old Firm League Cup clash ahead of first Premiership meeting of season
It was victory for Rangers manager Derek McInnes in his first Old Firm clash with Celtic; they will now face Aberdeen in the League Cup semi-finals; Celtic host Rangers in the first Premiership meeting of season on September 20, live on Sky Sports
Sunday 13 September 2026 17:06, UK
Rangers dominated Celtic in the first Old Firm clash of the season - of that there is no doubt.
Dan Neil's two perfectly precise strikes from the edge of the area and Kevin Kelsy's back-post volley were symptomatic of the level of control that Derek McInnes' side enjoyed in the game.
Aggressive, front-footed, confident - they were everything that Martin O'Neill's side were not.
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Ahead of the second meeting between the two sides in the space of a week - live on Sky Sports - here is what we learned from the first clash of the new season.
McInnes got his tactics right
The Rangers boss humbly shrugged off any suggestion of a tactical masterplan in his post-match news conference - but he was just being modest.
McInnes got his game plan spot on, and Celtic couldn't live with his team.
He used left-back James Penrice as an auxiliary midfielder to flood the middle of the pitch - allowing Rangers to press Celtic man-for-man.
Djeidi Gassama and Minsu Kim provided width and energy as wing-backs with Dujon Sterling, Emmanuel Fernandez and Olwethu Makhanya defending three-vs-three against Celtic's front line.
It was a bold decision that paid dividends as Celtic folded under the pressure.
Dan Neil snatched the starring role of midfield general from his Celtic counterpart Callum McGregor, who was left isolated without a defensive-minded midfield partner.
The former Sunderland man would probably have still been named Player of the Match even if he had not netted two famous derby goals.
Celtic crumble in another big game
After Rangers scored their third, Celtic's usually imperious captain McGregor ordered his own defence "no more goals".
A sobering submission from a figurehead who has been the heartbeat of so many Old Firm victories - but perhaps a signal of a deeper-rooted problem.
Celtic are leaking goals at an alarming rate in big games.
Their now infamous precipitous collapse against LASK from 4-0 up in their Champions League play-off round qualifier is no longer an anomaly. In the two biggest games of Celtic's season so far, they have shipped nine consecutive goals without reply.
A team that has been lauded for the strength of their mentality and togetherness is now showing early signs of mental fragility when faced with the intangible pressure of a 'big game', and the very tangible threat of aggressive, direct and physical opposition.
While Sunday's defeat is nowhere near as humiliating as that fateful evening in Linz, it must serve as a wake-up call for the Scottish champions if they dared to believe they could canter to another title.
Next week just got bigger
There were no away fans inside Ibrox on Sunday, and there will also be no travelling support at Celtic Park next weekend.
It's impossible to measure what, if any, impact that had on Celtic's lacklustre display or Rangers' rampant performance. However, the result heaps pressure on next week's hosts, who will be met by 60,000 scarred supporters expecting a response.
On paper, the champions go into the game with a 100 percent league record, but psychologically, their impressive start pales in significance to the trauma inflicted upon them following a beating at the hands of their fiercest rivals.
Perhaps the Hoops will embody the spirit of a wounded animal, perhaps Rangers will too crumble without the safety net of their own support, or perhaps any logical or rational thinking applied to attempting to predict the outcome of an Old Firm game will once again be rendered useless.
The only certainty is that next week's Scottish Premiership meeting - live on Sky Sports - is more consequential. Ahead of a three-week-long international break, the gap at the top of the table will stand at either two, five or eight points.
